Convicted killer Scott Peterson will be back in court in San Mateo County on Tuesday to be re-sentenced in the murder of his wife and their unborn son. Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo has said she plans to sentence him to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Peterson was originally sent to Death Row following his conviction, and he sat there until the California Supreme Court tossed the sentence last year. The justices ruled a pair of jurors who were willing to impose the death penalty, but personally objected to it, were improperly dismissed.
"They said that the way that the jurors were selected was prejudicial to Peterson," Loyola Law School Professor Laurie Levenson told KCBS Radio.
Peterson's wife, Laci, was eight months pregnant when she disappeared on Christmas Eve 19 years ago. Investigators alleged that Scott Peterson dumped his wife and unborn son's body from his fishing boat that night.
"They need more than his word and a parking permit from the Berkeley marina to prove he was off fishing when she vanished," KCBS Radio's Doug Sovern said in a report from Modesto during the initial search.
Laci Peterson's body was found washed up in Richmond four months later. Scott Peterson was arrested on April 18, 2003, the same day DNA tests verified the bodies belonged to Laci and their unborn son.
Peterson's trial began the following June, and testimony lasted longer than five months. The jury returned a guilty verdict after only a week, finding Peterson guilty of first-degree murder for killing his wife and second-degree murder for killing his unborn son.
He was ultimately sentenced to death, following emotional testimony from his wife's family.
"You knew she would be sick for all eternity, and you did that anyway," Laci Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha, testified.
Bob Melrose, reporting from the courtroom for KCBS Radio, said at the time "several jurors" started crying, as did "the court clerk, spectators and reporters."
Levenson noted Laci Peterson's family will have an opportunity to speak at Wednesday's hearing, which she doesn't expect to last longer than a day.
KCBS Radio will have team coverage inside and outside the San Mateo County courthouse in Redwood City throughout Scott Peterson's hearing on Wednesday.
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