The program arrives as Peterson’s attorneys prepare to appeal a judge’s rejection of claims they say undermine his conviction.
SAN MATEO, Calif. — A new documentary is renewing attention on disputed evidence in the Scott Peterson murder case, nearly three months after a California judge rejected his latest effort to overturn his conviction for killing his pregnant wife, Laci Peterson, and their unborn son.
The two-part A&E program, “Scott Peterson: The New Evidence,” is scheduled to premiere July 16 and 17. It examines scientific studies, witness accounts and alternative theories raised by Peterson’s attorneys and the Los Angeles Innocence Project. The organization says the material challenges the prosecution’s timeline and other parts of the case. Prosecutors have continued to defend the verdict, and San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth Hill ruled in April that the claims were procedurally barred or lacked merit.
Peterson, 53, was convicted in 2004 of first-degree murder in Laci Peterson’s death and second-degree murder in the death of their unborn son, Conner. Laci Peterson, who was eight months pregnant, disappeared from the couple’s Modesto home on Dec. 24, 2002. Her remains and those of Conner were found along the San Francisco Bay shoreline in April 2003. Peterson has maintained that he did not kill them.
The Los Angeles Innocence Project filed a habeas corpus petition in August 2025 containing 14 claims that it described as new evidence. The material included witness statements, scientific research and arguments that investigators failed to fully examine a burglary across the street from the Peterson home. The defense has argued that Laci Peterson may have seen the burglary and that her disappearance could have been connected to it. That theory was disputed during the original trial and has not been accepted by the court.
Hill rejected the petition in an order issued in April. The judge found that the arguments were not new, admissible or material enough to establish a claim of actual innocence. She wrote that several assertions repeated or expanded on theories that were available when Peterson was tried. Stanislaus County prosecutors said the ruling recognized the continued validity of the jury’s verdict.
Peterson’s lawyers said they plan to seek review in a higher California court. Los Angeles Innocence Project Deputy Director Hannah Brown said the group disagreed with the ruling and believed the court had misapplied the rules governing habeas corpus petitions. The organization also said Peterson has a separate petition pending before the California Supreme Court over alleged juror misconduct.
Among the defense claims highlighted in the documentary are new analyses of fetal development and ocean currents. Peterson’s lawyers say the studies call into question when Laci and Conner died and where their bodies entered the bay. They argue that newer three-dimensional modeling does not support the prosecution’s theory that the bodies were placed in the water near Brooks Island, where Peterson said he went fishing on the day his wife disappeared.
Those conclusions remain contested. The judge’s April order did not find that the scientific material proved Peterson was innocent. The Los Angeles Innocence Project has characterized the research as evidence that the jury relied on scientific testimony that is no longer dependable. Authorities have not withdrawn their account of the case, and no court has overturned Peterson’s murder convictions.
The documentary also revisits reports from people who said they saw a pregnant woman walking a dog after the time prosecutors believed Laci Peterson had been killed. It examines the burglary at a neighboring home and questions about police interviews with the men involved. Peterson’s attorneys say the burglary occurred on Dec. 24, while prosecutors told jurors it took place two days later. The defense contends that records and interviews connected to that investigation were not properly preserved or disclosed.
Hill’s ruling found that the defense had not met the legal standard required for relief. The Los Angeles Innocence Project has said investigators interviewed more than 50 people while reviewing the case, but the existence of additional interviews does not by itself establish that the original verdict was wrong. Laci Peterson’s family has continued to support the conviction and has rejected repeated claims that newly presented material clears Peterson.
The California Supreme Court overturned Peterson’s death sentence in 2020 after finding errors in how prospective jurors were screened for their views on capital punishment. The court left his convictions in place. Peterson was later resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. A trial judge denied him a new trial in 2022 after reviewing allegations that a juror gave false answers during jury selection, finding that the answers were not intentionally misleading and did not prejudice the verdict.
The latest documentary does not change Peterson’s legal status. He remains imprisoned while his attorneys prepare their next court challenge. Any appeal will require a higher court to decide whether the disputed evidence deserves further review or whether Hill’s rejection of the petition should stand.
Author note: Last updated July 13, 2026.