Convicted killer Scott Peterson was re-sentenced to life in prison on Wednesday at the Superior Court of California in San Mateo County for the murder of his wife 17 years ago.
Listen to the latest episode of "Bay Current" below.
KCBS Radio's "Bay Current" host Matt Pitman spoke with KGO reporter Laura Anthony, who has been covering the case in immense detail since Laci Peterson was first reported missing in 2003. Pitman and Anthony were two of just three media members allowed inside the courtroom during Wednesday's sentencing hearing.
"This case was one of my first big stories at KGO," Anthony reflected on KCBS Radio's "Bay Current" on Thursday. "I couldn’t help but think back to the Christmas Day when I went to Modesto for this story. Scott, the husband, came out of the house and said 'don’t take any pictures of me or my family.'"
Anthony noted that she pleaded with Peterson to allow their television crew to interview him for the broadcast. But ultimately, Peterson declined.
"I tried to explain to him that we could help when somebody is missing, we can help get the word out," Anthony emphasized. "But he said no, and the one thing he let us do was get a piece of video of their dog Mckenzie and that was it."
Anthony said that Peterson had a strange reaction to his wife being reported missing. She said that during press conferences Scott wore a baseball cap, stood behind reporters, and never showed his emotions.
"It struck a lot of us as a bit odd, but everyone handles things like that in their own way," she said.
In Wednesday's re-sentencing trial, Peterson's attorneys attempted to explain his odd reaction to his wife's death.
"Today in court his attorney said the reason he acted like that was because he knew he was having this inappropriate affair with Amber Frey," Anthony added. "According to his attorney, the focus would be taken off Laci, and it was in her interest that he was not out there."
But according to Anthony, Peterson does not have the same confidence he had nearly two decades ago.
"The swagger that he had then, I did not see now," she said. "He’s a middle-aged man, and he’s been on death row for 17 years. I saw an orange jump suit and a man that looked like he had been through a lot."
Peterson has been transferred to San Quentin State Prison and he and his family still maintain his innocence.
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