New evidence proposed by Scott Peterson's sister-in-law may prove his innocence, according to comments she made during an appearance on The Today show where she said new evidence could prove the timeline of Laci Peterson's murder case wrong.
In 2002, Peterson was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder for the death of his wife Laci and their unborn son, Conner. For the crime, he was sentenced to death in 2005 and remained on death row until 2020. However, it wasn't until then that his death was overturned, meaning he would face a new penalty phase trial.
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A California Supreme Court ruled that a lower court should take a second look at his case in October. This allowed his case to receive a second look to determine whether his guilty verdict should be overturned and whether the now 49-year-old should face a new trial.
Janey Peterson says that Laci was not killed on Christmas Eve 2002 but at a later date.
"There's evidence that was completely ignored that shows Laci was alive after [Scott] left for the day," Janey, who is married to Scott's brother, told the show. "But also, there was no evidence that he had anything to do with what happened to Laci."
At the time, she was eight months pregnant when she disappeared from her Modesto home. Her body was found in April 2003 in the San Francisco Bay.
Scott claimed that an unknown assailant killed Laci while she was walking the couple's dog when he left to go on a solo fishing trip on Christmas Eve morning.
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With the case moving forward, details came out about Scott's life that included a months-long affair with a woman who did not know he was married. His mistress Amber Frey cooperated with the authorities, testifying against Scott, helping lead to the conviction.
However, Janey says that being an adulterer doesn't mean that her brother is a killer.
"I don't think you can take that leap," she said, the Today show reported.
Scott was set to attend court virtually from California's San Quentin State Prison on Wednesday as his legal team fights for a new trial. The defense team has argued that the previous trial was flawed because some of the jurors lied about being a victim of domestic abuse to be selected for the case.
Janey is attending law school so that she can help her brother-in-law's defense team if a new trial is granted.
"We don't have justice," she said, stating that she thinks the killer is still at large. "This crime is not solved."
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