Convicted wife killer Scott Peterson has "won" a legal victory in a bid to prove his innocence in the 2002 killings of his wife Laci Peterson and their unborn son, Conner.
During a hearing on Wednesday, May 29, a judge decided that DNA testing could proceed on just one piece of evidence from the initial investigation, which Peterson's new lawyers from the Los Angeles Innocence Project argue could prove his innocence.
The judge determined that a piece of duct tape found on Laci's pants could be re-tested, according to People Magazine.
Peterson's lawyers claim, "There is absolutely no forensic evidence implicating Peterson."
Stanislaus County deputy district attorney, David Harris, said there is no need for a new trial.
"The people know the truth," said Harris.
"They know he's guilty of murdering his wife and unborn son."
Peterson, 51, appeared via livestream video from Mule Creek State Prison in Ione, Calif., where he is serving a life sentence for killing Laci, 27, and Conner.
During the hearing, Peterson's lawyers argued for the testing of DNA found on items from the investigation that were never previously tested.
One of the items is a bloody mattress found inside a burned-out van near the couple's Modesto home that was set on fire on Dec. 25, 2002, the day after Laci vanished.
Peterson's lawyers allege Laci was killed in that van by two men she witnessed robbing a house on her street on the morning she disappeared.
Inside the van was a mattress with apparent blood stains. The Los Angeles Innocence Project believes new evidence suggests the van did not have a mattress before it was stolen prior to Laci's killing.
They also want to test a tarp and plastic bag recovered near Laci's body from San Francisco Bay, along with duct tape and twine found on Conner's body.
Prosecutors stated that the case was closed long ago, and they will not release any evidence unless ordered to do so by the court.
Peterson became a person of interest when massage therapist Amber Frey, who had been romantically involved with him at the time, revealed the affair in Jan. 2003, claiming Peterson had initially told her he was a widower.
He was arrested on Apr. 18, 2003, four days after Laci and Conner's remains turned up in San Francisco Bay.
Peterson pleaded not guilty, however, on Nov. 12, 2004, a jury found him guilty of two counts of murder.
The wife and baby killer was sentenced to death in 2005, but in 2020, his death sentence was overturned, and Peterson was resentenced to life in prison without parole.
Peterson continues to advocate for his innocence.
"I have discovered that critical exculpatory evidence was ignored, overlooked, or never investigated at all, and in other instances, was suppressed at the time of my trial," Peterson wrote in a letter to the court.
In the summer of 2023, he reached out to the Los Angeles Innocence Project, convincing the non-profit to take on his case.
