Scott Peterson, the California man found guilty of killing his pregnant wife in the early 2000s, made a return to the courtroom nearly 20 years after he was convicted in the high-profile double murders of Laci Peterson and their unborn son.
Peterson, now 51, appeared virtually Tuesday for a status conference hearing in a San Mateo County courtroom, in an effort to overturn the 2004 convictions in which he was found guilty in the slayings of his 27-year-old wife and their baby, with whom she was eight months pregnant.
In January, the Los Angeles Innocence Project - a nonprofit that works to exonerate the wrongly convicted - announced it would take on Peterson's case in an attempt to clear his name of any wrongdoing. The organization filed a motion to request new DNA testing and post-conviction discovery, including trial files, according to CBS News.
The DNA evidence in question reportedly centers on a van involved in a burglary near the Peterson's home around the time of Laci's disappearance, the outlet reported.
Peterson was previously convicted of first-degree murder for the death of Laci, and second-degree murder in the killing of their unborn son, Connor, according to KNBC-TV.
Investigators said Peterson killed the pair at the family's Modesto, California home, and dumped their bodies in the San Francisco Bay, the outlet reported. The prosecution argued Peterson was driven to kill to escape his five-year marriage and impending fatherhood. He was also said to be having an affair with a Fresno-based massage therapist.
At the time of his trial, Peterson pleaded not guilty.
However, a jury found him culpable in the murders of his family members, and he was subsequently sentenced to death.
The California Supreme Court overturned his sentencing in 2021, citing jury bias, according to ABC News. As a result, Peterson was resentenced to life without the possibility of parole.
Peterson is scheduled for three more virtual hearings regarding his defense team's request for DNA testing and post-conviction discovery, later this year.
