SAN MATEO COUNTY, Calif. (KNX) — Scott Peterson, the man convicted of the 2002 Christmas Eve killing of his wife Laci and their unborn child, was resentenced to life without the possibility of parole Wednesday.
Peterson waited more than 15 years on death row at San Quentin State Prison after being found responsible for his family’s murders, but the California Supreme Court overturned his sentence last year because of missteps with the jury. The Stanislaus County district attorney said she would not attempt to obtain a death penalty sentence again.
Instead, a judge said Wednesday Peterson would serve 15 years to life in prison, sentences that will run concurrently.
A court found Peterson guilty in 2005 and sentenced him to death for murdering his wife and unborn son, Conner, and dumping their bodies into the San Francisco Bay. The bodies washed ashore near a location where Peterson had told investigators he was fishing the day they disappeared.
Peterson bought a boat and researched ocean currents, prosecutors said.
“I still feel the grief every day, after 19 years,” Sharon Rocha, Laci’s mother, said Wednesday. “Your evil, self-centered, unforgivable, selfish act ended two beautiful souls. And for what reason? There was no reason other than that you just didn’t want them anymore. You didn’t want a baby nor the responsibility of being a father. You’re a coward."
“Sometimes when I wake up, I cry because they’re so realistic and I know I’ll never see her again,” Rocha added.
Peterson’s defense attorney fought for resentencing so that they could get a new trial for him, KRON-4 reported. California’s highest court ruled in 2020 that jurors had been improperly screened and dismissed because of their perceived biases against the death penalty.
Supporters of Peterson made appearances at Wednesday’s sentencing hearing but were not allowed to speak.