Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - SCOTT PETERSON WRANGLES NEW TRIAL BID IN MURDERS OF LACI & BABY CONNER

Episode Date: January 22, 2024

When pregnant Laci Peterson went missing, it was her stepfather who called 911, not her husband. When Laci's body was found four months later in San Francisco Bay, Scott Peterson became suspect number one. Prosecutors revealed he was having an affair with a woman who did not know he was married.   Scott Peterson has always maintained his innocence, even after his conviction. His death sentence has been overturned and now Peterson is serving a life sentence without parole. Now, the Innocence Project is taking on the conviction of Scott Peterson claiming there is new evidence. As the Los Angeles Innocence Project says the new evidence raises questions about who abducted and killed Laci Peterson. They also claim Peterson's State and Federal Constitutional Rights were violated and have filed a motion seeking evidence from the original trial.  Joining Nancy Grace Today: Dale Carson – High-profile Attorney (Jacksonville), Former FBI Agent & Former Police Officer (Miami-Dade County); Author: “Arrest-Proof Yourself”  Caryn L. Stark – Psychologist, Renowned TV and Radio Trauma Expert and Consultant; Instagram: carynpsych/FB: Caryn Stark Private Practice Sheryl McCollum  – Forensics Expert & Cold Case Investigative Research Institute Founder; Host of Podcast: “Zone 7;” Twitter: @149zone7 Dr. Todd M. Barr -(Ohio) Board-Certified Anatomic/Clinical/Forensic Pathologist, Featured in "Thin Places: Essays From In Between," by Jordan Kisner Kristine Lazar - Investigative reporter at KCAL/CBS Los Angeles. Twitter & IG:  @CBSLAKristine, Facebook: Kristine Lazar See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. I never dreamed I would put these four words in the same sentence. Scott Peterson, Innocence Project. You know, I disagree with a lot of cases Innocence Project has handled over the years, the way that they handled it, but I've had deep respect for them. Not anymore! Really? This guy has been through an appeal, another appeal, another appeal, a habeas corpus, and now this based on new evidence? What new evidence? I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Crime Stories and on Sirius XM 111. Let's take it back

and get a little reality check on what really happened. Listen to this. Hi, can I help you? Yes. My son-in-law called. He went to play in golf this morning at 930. My daughter's been missing since this morning. She's eight months pregnant.

She took her dog for a walk in the park. The dog came home with just a leaf shot. And the dog came back without your daughter? Right. What's your stepdaughter's name? God, Peterson. No, no, no, your stepdaughter. Lacey Peterson.

Lacey, P-P-E-R-S-O-N, right? P-P-E-R-S-O-N. And she's white, black, Hispanic, Asian? Um, she's Portuguese or what? How old is she? She's 26. What time did she leave the house and didn't come back? That we don't know. We just got a call from her son-in-law.

Said he left this morning at 9 30 to play golf. He left that home about a half hour ago. Nowhere around. Okay, so she went to walk the dog away? Walked it in me in that park. And she's eight months pregnant, you said? Pardon? You said she's eight months pregnant? Yes, I am.

Okay, well, I'll come out as soon as they're available. Okay. Okay? Okay. Thanks. Bye-bye. Joining me, an all-star panel to make sense of what we know right now, including Christine Lazar joining us, investigative reporter KKAL, CBS, there in L.A., who's been on the story

all over the story. But first, let me go to the director and founder of the Cold Case Research Institute, star of a hit series, Zone 7 podcast, Cheryl McCollum. Did you hear what I just heard? Absolutely. Okay. This is a lightning round. That means yes, no, if you can contain yourself. If not, I understand. Did I not hear on one but two occasions and Rod Gransky, may he rest in peace, 911 call that Scott Peterson, Lacey's husband, told him that he was golfing that morning. Did you hear that? Because I heard that loud and clear twice. You know what, Cheryl McCollum? I know what I did this morning. I woke up super early. I made a

shake for my son and oven baked bacon for him and Lucy. I took food to my mom. I fed the cats and the dogs and everybody. And then they went to school. I know exactly what happened this morning. Now, how is it at first he thought he was playing golf and then that changed to he was fishing the morning his wife disappears fishing in the rain and the cold on Christmas Eve in San Francisco Bay where her body turns up. Why? Because I think he realized they got my tag at the marina when I came in and he also had to pay a fee that gives you a time stamp receipt. He knew that was something they were going to be able to prove. He had no choice but to change his statement. Cheryl, my question was, why did he say he was playing golf?

Because he had told his super-in-law the night before that that's what he was going to be doing, so he had already put that in the universe. Del Carson, high-profile lawyer, joining me out of Jacksonville. What I like about Carson is not only is he a high-profile defense attorney, don't like that as much, but former FBI and former cop in Miami Dade, never a lack of business for cops in Miami Dade, author of Arrest Proof Yourself. You can find him at DaleCarsonLaw.com. Okay, Dale, he said he was playing golf because he was lying because then he changed his story to fishing based on what Cheryl McCollum just said.

He was busted going in and out of the marina. Look, I don't care that there is a guard gate when I take the children drop off and pick up. I don't care if I'm spotted. Why did he care? I know the answer to this, and it is quite simple. He's talking to his father-in-law. And any person who would leave the night before Christmas or the day before Christmas and go out fishing with his pregnant eight-month-old wife home by herself

is not to be believed with anything he says. How could a man do such a thing? And he certainly doesn't want to be called out by his father-in-law for being the absolute, incredible liar that he is. Another thing, let me go to Christine Lazar. And by the way, I agree with you, Dale Carson. Now, it's a cold day in H-E-double-L that Dale Carson, who has won a lot of jury trials, says a defendant is lying. Normally, he takes their side, you know, no matter

what. Christine Lazar joining me, investigative reporter, KCAL, CBS. Christine Lazar, also, the theory goes on that Lacey Peterson, now this is according to Scott Peterson, think he's got a reason to lie, got any skin in the game, got a dog in the fight. He says she was going for a walk in the park. that one of the several doctors monitoring Lacey's pregnancy testified at the original trial that Lacey had called the Hera Clinic complaining about being dizzy when she walked. And this doctor told her not to exercise or do it late in the day when she had plenty on her tummy and was hydrated. Now, that doctor was Dr. Tina Edrocki, and she was under direct examination by prosecutor David Harris. She called again November the 8th, claiming she had shortness of breath.

Again, she was told don't exercise early in the day. Isn't that true, Christine Lazar? Yes. So at the time of the trial, I was a reporter in Fresno, and they sent me up to Redwood City to cover it because, as you may remember, Scott Peterson's mistress, Amber Fry, was from the Fresno area. Okay, wait. Just stop right there, Christine Lazar. I think my head is physically going to blow off because everything you just said is true. But now I'm talking about Lacey short of breath. The doctor said she wasn't going to walk in the morning.

And you brought up the F word, Amber Fry, who happens to be a very lovely lady, by the way. I spent time with her and her lawyer, who I admire a lot, Gloria Allred. I mean, okay, go ahead. I think my head is still attached to my neck. Go ahead, Christine. Well, you know, look, I mean, that really was the, I guess you could say, smoking gun of that trial. When we all sat around and listened to those audio tapes Scott Peterson saying that he's at the Eiffel Tower when in reality he's at a vigil for his missing wife who was pregnant with his first child his unborn child those memories of listening to those tapes will always stick with me being in

that trial when this first came out that the Innocence Project was taking on this case, all my colleagues wanted to know what it was like covering that trial. And I will also say, and I know, Nancy, you were there. One of the things we all talked about was Scott's demeanor and how he walked into that courtroom every day with a swagger and a smirk on his face. Like a cocky SOB that was a star quarterback of his own murder trial. That's what it was like. I mean, all puffed up. Yes. And it was hard to wrap your brain around the fact that even if he was innocent, he has a wife who is dead and his first child who died with her. And so it was hard to reconcile his behavior with the crime that we were all there for.

You know, changing a story from, how could you get that wrong? The day your wife goes missing. And oh, Cheryl McCollum, correct me, wasn't that her father, stepfather Ron Gransky calling in, not her husband. A hundred percent. So he didn't even make the call. He's showing no concern. There's so much there. But do you remember that, Cheryl McCollum?

I was out in Redwood City covering the trial live. But I was in Atlanta, as were you, and New York, much of the time when the investigation was going on. And I will never forget the moment. I remember where I was. I was standing in the lobby of my apartment building in New York, about eight blocks from the Court TV studios and HLM. And the photo of Scott Peterson comes out with his hand on his mistress, Amber Fry's rear end. And she had on this beautiful red Christmas dress and he was dressed up to go to her Christmas party while Lacey, eight months pregnant,

stayed home with her feet up because she was feeling bad. Point, feet up, Cheryl McCollum. Last count, you had two children. Feet up. She McCollum. Last count, you had two children. Feet up. She was so heavily pregnant, she had to put her feet up all the time and was told directly by multiple doctors, do not walk in the morning, if at all, because she was getting dizzy to the point of thinking she was going to pass out

when she would go for a walk. Absolutely. So you remember that feeling where your ankles are swelling up. You don't even feel like getting up, much less walking. But she was told not to do it because she was at risk for doing that. She needed to rest. But Nancy, the pre and post behavior here is something we've talked about a lot. So not only is he having an affair, he is doing so where he is maintaining the relationship with Amber Fry after Lacey goes missing. That, to me, is critical because people always say, well, just because you're having an affair doesn't make you a murderer.

Absolutely. But that behavior after she went missing, where he's calling Amber during the candlelight vigil for Lacey and Connor. And he's explaining, oh, I'm watching these fireworks and I'm thinking of you. He's not searching for her. He's not desperate to find her and his unborn child. He is trying to maintain a relationship with somebody he's only known for weeks. You know, Cheryl, you just brought to my mind who I consider to be a friend, Lacey's mother, Sharon Rocha. And I will never forget. And I guess, Christine Lazar, you were in the courtroom for this. I had been out front. I had been doing something for either, it had to be for

court TV. And I raced back in and all I could get was a very back row seat. And I was happy to get it. All the way in the back of the courtroom. And I'm short. I had to take my backpack off and sit on top of my backpack to see Sharon Rocha on the stand. I remember she had on this beautiful yellow outfit. And when she was describing burying Lacey, her bones, of course, because she was skeletonized by the time she washed ashore, Lacey was buried holding Connor, her baby, in her arms.

And I will never forget her looking over at Scott Peterson. And I am reminded of a truth. And the truth is those most vested in a true verdict are the victim's family. And they, Lacey's family, is convinced Scott Peterson is guilty. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Now, the Innocence Project is coming in full steam after multiple appeals claiming there's new evidence. But speaking of Sharon Rocha, listen to this. We'd like to thank all of you for being whoever has her please please please let her go bring her back we love her so much we want her back please let us have her back we want her and our grandson home safely and immediately, so please bring her back to us.

You hear Ron Gransky breaking down in the background, and I can tell you, Ron Gransky was very, very emotional. He loved Lacey so much. He could hardly ever speak before the cameras. Reminded me a lot of my dad. Very sentimental. Could hardly get through three sentences straight without breaking down and crying about Lacey. And now this, and Sharon Rocha has to live through the whole thing again and more from Sharon Rocha. Lacey was just a loving, happy, generous, vivacious person. She just, Lacey loves life. She loves people. She loves entertaining. She's happy. She's, she and Scott are just so much in love. They just, they're just, I think everybody envies their relationship. They're just perfect together. They have a wonderful life.

They're looking forward to having their baby. They've waited a long time. They've tried for a long time to have a baby, and she finally became pregnant, and this is just the center of her world, is to have her baby and be with her husband. Now, that is what Sharon Rocha thought before this. Listen.

I met Scott Peterson November 20th, 2002. I was introduced to him. I was told he was unmarried. Scott told me he was not married. We did have a romantic relationship. When I discovered he was involved in the Lacey Peterson disappearance case, I immediately contacted the Modesto Police Department. Although I could have sold the photos of Scott and I to tabloids, I knew this was not the right thing to do. For fear of jeopardizing the case or the police investigation, I will not

comment further. Yeah, Amber Frey was dragged through the mud, tarred and feathered over having a relationship, a sex relationship with Peterson. But I believe her that she did not know he was married. She could have made probably at least a100,000 of selling those photos and her story. She didn't do it. Listen to more of Amber Fry. I am very sorry for Lacey's family and the pain that this has caused them. And I pray for her safe return as well. I would appreciate to my friends and acquaintances to refrain from talking about me to the media

for profit or recognition. I am a single mother of a 23-month-old child, and I ask to respect my privacy. Thank you. Of course, her life turned upside down and she was again tarred and feathered on cross-examination when she bravely took the stand in court. But you know what? To Karen Stark joining me, renowned psychologist joining us out of Manhattan. You can find her at karenstarr.com. That's Karen with a C in case you try to find her. Karen, did you hear Sharon Rocha say that Lacey loved entertaining? Okay, Karen, I don't know if you remember, you and I worked on this case together. You were with me

night after night after night during the trial on air. And I remember telling you that I had gone to Lacey's home and actually got to look inside. And it looked like I could tell she loved her home. It was decorated, I could tell, on a budget. But it was so perfectly done. I'm getting to a point. It would be a cold day, an H-E-double-L, that David Lynch, my husband, that you told me to marry, by the way, would go out. Remember, Lacey was expecting all the family to come to her place and was getting it all ready. I mean, she was having everything, getting everything

ready for Christmas. It was December 24. It would be a cold day in hell that David Lynch would leave when I was trying to get the house ready and cook a turkey and homemade dressing and blah, blah, blah, blah, get all the presents wrapped, everything done. No way. He would be there trying to help me. And with her pregnant, no way was he going to go golfing or fishing. Nancy, she was eight months pregnant and told that she should not be exercising or doing any undue labor while she was pregnant at that point. And he was out golfing. Oh, wait, no, he wasn't golfing. He was fishing.

And do you remember the interview that they had with him when he picked up a call? He was so nonchalant. You would never, ever guess that this man had lost his wife and his child. You know, the only newly discovered evidence there is to be found at this point is to tell me exactly how he murdered his wife. To Dr. Todd M. Barr, joining me, board

certified anatomic clinical forensic pathologist, featured in Thin Places, Essays from Inbetween. Dr. Barr, thank you for being with us. The defense has thrown out so many, many, many different theories as to who murdered Lacey. They said a thing, they said a Hawaiian gang did it. Then they said some other kind of gang did it. Then they said, oh, one of the theories was that someone had kidnapped Lacey and cut her open to take baby Connor for their own. But yet when she was found, there was no indication of that, although she was largely skeletonized. But the state's theory, which was backed up by medical examiners, was that over time,

weeks and weeks and weeks in the San Francisco Bay, the last looked like a little, one of those little plastic shiny baby dolls that you get at a store. Sure. I mean, the fact that the baby was in utero was very protective, you know, in the cold waters of the San Francisco Bay, Francisco Bay, that slows down decomposition. Now, of course, Lacey's body is exposed to all of the elements, including animal predation, animals or fish that might be gnawing on her flesh,

which will actually promote the acceleration of her decomposition. So yes, I agree that the baby would have been the last one out, so to speak, and would have been relatively well preserved at that point. So would there have been any evidence left that someone had cut her stomach open? I mean, if they had done that, they would have tried to get Connor out and he was still in there. Yeah. And I would think that if somebody was, you know, not a surgical person that was trying to open up her abdomen to take the baby out, it's very possible that the baby would have sustained some sort of injury in the process. I mean, it's a tight space in the uterus. And so when you're trying to cut a baby out, there very well could have been evidence that the baby sustained some sort of sharp force injury from someone trying to extract the baby.

A homemade cesarean. Yes. The baby is cut out of the stomach. But you're right. You would have expected Connor to have some sort of cutting or injury or something. He had nothing. Yes. Unless it was done by an OBGYN, you know, that knew what they were doing. Exactly. Most of us wouldn't know where to make the first cut. Even as a medical doctor myself, I wouldn't know how to do a cesarean section because I'm not trained as an OBGYN.

Yeah. I try to tell people that all the time. I'm like, you want me to write your will? Yeah, I'll try. But that's like asking an ear doctor to perform open heart surgery. But okay. Guys, we are hearing that the Innocence Project has actually taken on Scott Peterson's case. Now, to Christine Lazar joining us, investigative reporter KCAL CBS LA, I understand that they claim there is blood spatter evidence that, quote, might have exonerated him

and other suspects who were, quote, overlooked. Is that what they're basing this on? You know, they're not saying a lot, but that is what they are pointing to, that there was some sort of blood spatter evidence inside this burned out van. And as you may remember, there was talk that there was a robbery in the area right before she went missing. And could that be linked to her disappearance again in trial? The prosecution kind of pushed that aside and said those were completely unrelated. But the emphasis right now is on that van. Well, you're talking about a robbery. I thought it was a burglary.

Yes, correct. I'm sorry. Kind of catty-cornered to Lacey's home, their own Covina. And I believe the reason prosecutors discounted it is because they caught the burglars and interviewed them at length and polygraphed them and decided, yeah, that's not what happened. Is that the burglary you're talking about? Yes. And I will say here in L.A., this is all anybody seems to be talking about. And a lot of people, if you look in the comments section, if you hear the responses to the stories we've

been doing, a lot of people very upset with the Innocence Project, feeling like this is a case that is not worthy of their time and attention. Most people I talk to say they believe Scott Peterson did it. There was a lot of circumstantial evidence in the trial, but one thing that we kept saying as reporters covering it back in 2004, if not him, then who? All signs seem to point to Scott Peterson. And I will say after covering that trial and walking away from it, I did feel like the jury made the right decision. Well, the thing is this, we're just touching on some of the evidence right now, just a tiny, tiny bit of it. But I sat through the trial. I heard the evidence. I, like many people, agree Peterson murdered his wife and unborn child.

As to the Innocence Project, they actually do fine work in many cases. There are wrongfully convicted people in our country, and they need to be our country and they need to be released and they need to be exonerated. There are cases out there that desperately need the Innocence Project. So why latch on to Scott Peterson's case like a tick sucking the blood out of it? Why? Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Guys, speaking of guilt, we've been talking about the mistress, and I kind of hate to even refer to her that way because she's a very nice lady with a new life and a new family.

Listen to this. This is the call Cheryl McCollum referred to where even after Lacey is missing, of course dead, you hear him continuing the lie just to get laid. What? One you there? Yes. Have a good time? Emory! Hey, Happy New Year! Happy New Year! I wanted to call you. Thank you.

Emory, are you there? I'm here. Emory. I wish you could hear me. I'm on the, I think you're there. I'm near the Eiffel Tower. New Year's celebration is unreal. The crowd is huge. The crowd's huge? Amber.

Yes, I'm here. Amber, you're there. I can't hear you right now, but I'll call you on your New Year's. Okay. I'll be there for you then. Amber. Amber, I'll meet you. I'll see you soon. Okay. I hope I'm there. Cheryl McCollum, my chest is hurting now. At first I thought my head was going to blow off. Now I think I might be having a heart attack. Did you hear that?

Oh, it's so disgusting. I'm near the Eiffel Tower, and the celebration is, quote, unreal. The crowd is huge. There was a huge crowd, but wasn't he at his wife's vigil when he did that? He was literally standing off to the side during the candlelight vigil. Again, wanting to keep the relationship with Amber going. And the thing that's so crazy to me, even if you're having an affair, and even if you're having a great time with this person that you just met weeks ago,

if your wife legitimately goes missing and she's pregnant with your unborn child, it seems like your focus would flip because again, your parents are going to be hurting. Her parents are going to be scared to death and hurting siblings. You've got other people involved with your marriage that are going to be connected to Lacey and love her. And here's the thing. His mother-in-law turned on him and understood that he was a liar and did something to Lacey. His best friend distanced himself because he's like, look, his alibi is

not making any sense to me. Nobody supported him that knew him. No one. So everything that he started to do again, there's some things you're right about, Nancy, that we don't have. We don't have the cause of death or the time of death or a weapon, but there's things we do have. We've got hair and pliers on his boat that we know Lacey never went on. He's the one that said, oh, you're probably going to find blood in my truck. He gave them that. He's the one that told his dad, I might be pulling an OJ. I mean, everything he did gave us reason to look at him, especially when he goes on Diane Sawyer and is talking about her in past tense. When they were still searching for her. You know, Dale Carson joining me, high-profile defense attorney joining us out of Jacksonville, former FBI and beat cop in Miami-Dade.

Dale Carson, I want to hear what you think about the changing defense theories and about this blood spatter. But first, let me ask you something about the Innocence Project, which I have long held in esteem. I don't believe you have ever heard me rant and rave about the Innocence Project because they have actually led to some exonerations that were desperately needed by Lady Justice. So Dale Carson, what I find very curious is you heard Christine Lazar. She's a very well-known and respected investigative reporter joining us out of KCAL CBS LA. She said that the Innocence Project has not revealed what the, quote, new evidence is.

Why? If it's new evidence, man, and it was proven Scott Peterson innocent, I would be shouting from the rooftops. Well, I took the opportunity to read the appeal, essentially, and it's fairly lengthy. But there are just points that you've already mentioned, frankly. The two burglars, they've been interviewed, a van with a mattress in it that had blood in it, the argument that the dog was out and Lacey had been walking the dog and she was abducted by these individuals. I mean, it's fairly laid out. And the Innocence Project does an excellent job where it's needed. I think this is more of a publicity stab than it is anything else. And I don't think it's particularly necessary.

I think it's a waste of their resources and energies on something that's fairly clear. I mean, the most interesting thing to me from an investigative perspective is the fact that her head and her hands were missing. Those are identity clues. And there's only one person who would do something like that. And we all know who that is. So yes, in any large major case, there's going to be evidence, just as there was the Atlantic kid killings that I was involved with, where there's additional evidence that shows up years later, but that doesn't mean that the individual who's been convicted is somehow innocent. Can I point something out, a legal aspect that I think will immediately quash this appeal. Newly discovered means newly discovered. The van plus purported sightings of Lacey

before her disappearance were known at the time of trial. This is not newly discovered. I'm only curious regarding the blood. The project is asking DNA testing be done on blood and that previously unheard interviews with witnesses be re-examined. There is nothing new. I mean, am I missing something, Christine Lazar? The blood they're talking about, the blood spatter they're referring to, if it exists, would have been in that van? Is that the blood they're talking about, the blood spatter they're referring to, if it exists, would have been in that van? Is that the blood they're talking about? Well, look, I mean, they're not saying a lot. They're not giving us specifics.

A lot of this is just us, you know, trying to read between the lines and figure out where their head is at. Because so many people are surprised that this is a case that the Innocence Project has decided to take on. At this point, we're being told that it has something to do with blood in that van. But they had the van at the time of trial. Correct. The van was discoverable at the time of trial. And under the law, if this was evidence that could be discoverable at the time of the trial, it is not, quote, newly discovered, which is required for a case to go forward on appeal on the grounds of newly discovered evidence.

It's not newly discovered. That said, I would still want the truth. But back to the facts. Remember when Amber Frye was entertaining that call from Peterson the night of his wife's vigil, as Sheryl McCollum described, going off to the corner and calling Amber Frye was entertaining that call from Peterson, the night of his wife's vigil, as Sheryl McCollum described, going off to the corner and calling Amber Frye, pretending he's in Paris, quote, near the Eiffel Tower. Man, he could shoot a line of, well, let's see, I gave up cursing, crap. But she knew he was under suspicion. When she took

that call, she was recording it for police. And how do you think that made her feel? Knowing a guy had likely killed his wife and he was out and you're cooperating with police? She did it anyway. Now she confronts him. Listen. Told me this elaborate lie about her missing and this tragedy and that, and that, that this will be the first holidays without her? I never said Amber. I, God, I don't want to fight with you. You know that I, I never said tragedy or missing. Oh yes, you said you've lost your wife. No. Yes. Obviously without me saying much. I said that I lost my wife. Yes, you did. I did. Okay, so either he's clairvoyant or he's a killer. Help me out, Cheryl.

Nancy, he told another mistress named Janet that kids were going to disrupt his lifestyle. He told other people his wife was dead. He has done so many things before she went missing. He got an insurance policy for a quarter of a million dollars. He bought the boat. He, you know, did things to line up to be a single person, it would appear. And then after she goes missing, the lies kept going. He didn't want to take a polygraph. He told the detective, there's no outside people. There's no third party in our marriage. Our marriage is fine. But he continued to call Amber. He continued to say, look, everything's good here. There's no

problem. You know, even when this case got so hot, Lacey's face was everywhere. Everybody's concerned about this young woman who is so adorable and eight and a half months pregnant. And they want to focus on this watch that was pawned. Let me ask you something. What criminal kidnaps this person? The case gets hot as fire and they wait a week to pawn her watch. That doesn't make any sense. There were two Croton, C-R-O-T-O-N, watches pawned.

And it has never been established that that was Lacey's watch that she had inherited. Croton, I think, is a brand of watch. Hey, you left out the fact that he immediately ordered the porn channel, added that to the cable bill, and tried to sell the house and the car. Now, this is when Lacey is still missing. Obviously, Karen Stark, you're the shrink. He's not expecting her to walk through the front door.

It would be, again, a cold day in hell that David Lynch adds on the porn channel when I'm missing. It's like I go to the school for a reason for the children and he orders the porn channel while I'm gone. No, because he knows I'm going to walk in and see porn on the TV. No, that would not do. But Peterson wasn't worried. He knew Lacey was never coming home, Karen Stark. That's right, Nancy. And how about when he was telling everybody, and people need to hear this, that he could not go into the nursery, he could not go into Connor's room until they were back and somebody, and he was definitely going to keep that door closed. And then they discovered that he was using it as storage. He lied again. He had things in there. He had no respect for the fact that he still didn't even know what was going to happen with this baby.

Guys, I want to cut forward to our cut 1016. I want you to analyze more of what Peterson did at the time Lacey, quote, goes missing. Listen. At 9.30 a.m. Christmas Eve, Scott Peterson goes fishing in his brand new boat. Peterson claims the fishing trip is a last-minute decision. He planned to go golfing, but it was too cold and blustery for golf, so he went fishing. Lucky for Scott, even though his decision to fish was last-minute, he bought a two-day ocean fishing license on December 22nd. Peterson fishes without success and returns home late in the afternoon. When he gets home, Scott finds Lacey's car in the driveway. Their dog, Mackenzie, is in the backyard, but the house is empty. After he takes the time to shower and change clothes, Scott Peterson goes to

a neighbor's house to see if they've seen Lacey. The neighbors hadn't seen Lacey, so Scott calls Lacey's mother Sharon. According to Fox News, Scott Peterson doesn't say, have you spoken to Lacey today? Do you know where Lacey is? He tells Lacey's mother that Lacey is missing. Okay, yeah, no. When I'm looking for David, when he goes out of town or he has some meeting or something,

I would never say David's missing. I go, Hey, where's David? Have you seen your dad? Something like that. And that is what Sharon wrote to testify to on the stand. So he's out on a secret boat. Christine Lazar joining us, KCAL CBS LA. He's out on a secret boat that he didn't tell anybody about. He has, he went fishing last minute, although we know two days before he got a fishing license. So it's not last minute. Isn't it true, Christine Lazar, that when he gets home, the dog McKenzie's in the backyard with the gate locked? Wasn't the backyard gate locked? Anybody jump in that can remember that?

I do remember that from trial. So what, the dog let himself in and locked the gate? Right. Well, the defense argued, as you may remember, that a neighbor had put the dog in there and it closed the gate. And did that neighbor come forward at trial? No.

Right. Okay, what exactly is the Innocence Project doing? They're refusing to state what the newly discovered evidence is. And my question is, if they're all about the truth coming out, then why keep it a secret? What are they hiding and why are they hiding it? Or is there really nothing there? Take a listen to Crime Online's Rachel Bonilla. Scott Peterson's former attorney, Mark Garagos, on TMZ Live, says he can debunk all the prosecution evidence, but said he believes the jury was laser focused on Peterson cheating on his wife.

The filing by the L.A. Innocence Project says Peterson's claims of actual innocence is supported by newly discovered evidence. And more. Listen. In court documents, the Los Angeles Innocence Project is asking for witnesses who may have seen Lacey walking her dog. There may be witnesses who saw Lacey Peterson alive after her husband left Modesto to go fishing. KRON reports police and prosecutors said Lacey was murdered before Scott Peterson left town. In court documents, Scott Peterson wrote, During the search to find Lacey, the police continually ignored evidence,

including eyewitness reports that Lacey was alive and walking our dog the day she disappeared. The project is asking for all reports detailing investigative actions taken in response to eyewitness accounts reporting sightings of Lacey Peterson on or after December 24, 2002. None of that, Dale Carson, is new evidence. You're exactly right. None of it is new. And as you say, in appellate work, you have to have evidence that was not discovered at the time. And if they don't have that, they don't meet the boundary for that to be appealed effectively.

And again, they're dredging up the burglary across the street, catty corner to Lacey's home. Listen. Another request from the LA Innocence Project is information regarding the burglary that took place at the Medina's house across the street from the Peterson's home sometime between December 24 and December 26. KRON reports that the two

burglars were caught and during their interviews with police denied having anything to do with Lacey Peterson. The LA Innocence Project seeks a complete copy of the Modesto Police Department's investigation into the burglary as well as Modesto Police Department's investigation into the burglary, as well as Modesto Police Department reports on the steps they took to verify the alibis of the two burglars, Stephen Todd and Donald Glenn Pierce, establishing their whereabouts on December 24, 2002. And is this the blood they're talking about? Listen. A suspicious van fire happened on Christmas Day, less than a mile from the Peterson home the day Lacey Peterson was reported missing. And the L.A. Innocence Project wants reports from the police department and fire department concerning the investigation of what they call an incendiary fire of an orange van containing a mattress with apparent blood stains. Court documents show the van appeared to have been intentionally ignited to cover up a crime. Cheryl McCollum, did I just hear the word

apparent? They don't even know if that's blood? Correct. So again, you walk this thing through forensically. We don't have blood that came back as Lacey. We don't have blood that came back as lacy we don't have blood that came back from scott in that van we don't have blood that came back from anybody else in that van we don't have an eyewitness that saw the van on fire we don't have these two burglars running from that van we don't have clothing from lacy we don't have hair from lacy we don't have anything in that van connected to her we do however have her hair in the pliers in the toolbox inside the boat that she was never in never fool with we do have his blood in his truck that he said we would find we don't have him searching for her looking for her calling the police about her he didn't do

any of that none of it but what we do have is an insurance policy, multiple affairs, him telling people before she went missing that she was dead. He refused to take a polygraph. I mean, it just goes on and on and on. And even though it's circumstantial, you and I both have worked how many cases where somebody was killed for a lot less than $250,000.

This is all I have to say. Scott Peterson, I'm going to have my hot tea. You stick to your pruno, your jailhouse hooch, because you're going to need a lot of it when this appeal is rejected. And I'm sure it will never concern you at all what you're doing to what is left of Lacey's family. Goodbye. This is an iHeart Podcast.