All language subtitles for How.It.Really.Happened.S02E11_English

♪♪

I had nothing to do
with Laci's disappearance.

I'm not going to waste the time
defending myself.

I don't really care what those
people out there think.

When people accuse me
of some involvement,

and I had nothing to do
with her disappearance,

but people still
accuse me of it.

My response is the same
to all of them,

"Thank you for being aware
of her missing from our family,

and please do what you can
to bring her home."

♪♪

♪♪

Welcome to
"How It Really Happened."

I'll Hill Harper.

By all appearances,
Scott and Laci Peterson

were a loving couple excited

about the birth
of their first child,

but when a young mom-to-be
vanishes on Christmas Eve,

their storybook romance
turns into a tale of murder,

lies, and betrayal.

No one wanted to believe
that the handsome,

charming husband could
harm his wife or unborn child,

but after their bodies
washed up on the shores

of the San Francisco Bay,

Scott Peterson is arrested
and charged with murder.

So did he do it?

Tonight, the case
against Scott Peterson.

Here's how it really happened.

♪♪

CNN has confirmed
that Scott Peterson,

husband of missing
Laci Peterson,

is under arrest tonight.

Reporter:
Scott Peterson is under
24-hour watch

at the Stanislaus county jail.

To everyone who knew Scott,

the idea that he could be
a suspect was unthinkable.

If you knew Scott
and if you knew Laci,

they were the couple
everybody wanted to be.

Caudillo:
She and Scott were just thrilled

about the coming
of their baby boy.

I mean, this was a big event
for them,

and everything was
going wonderfully.

On the morning of December 24th,

Scott says he left early
in the morning

to go fishing
on the San Francisco Bay.

Reporter:
Early Christmas Eve, Laci took
her dog McKenzie for a walk.

Later that morning, McKenzie
was found but Laci wasn't.

When he had called me and
told me that Laci was missing,

I remember thinking to myself,

"Missing? What do you
mean missing?"

Jordan: There were many theories
about what happened to Laci,

but police had
their suspicions early on.

Rowlands:
The officer that was called
to the house

on the 24th of December
told detectives,

"Watch out for the husband
because he's acting strangely."

Buehler: Scott behaved unusual
from the start.

Scott seemed helpful,
but not 100%.

There were too many things
that didn't add up.

When he got home, saw that
Laci's belongings were there,

her vehicle in the front drive,

the dog, everything,
but no Laci, he took a shower.

He ate some pizza,
and he washed clothes.

Buehler: If he was worried
about his wife,

why did he wash his clothes?

Why did he eat the pizza?

Why did he take a shower all
before he even called Sharon

to see where Laci was?

On the initial walkthrough
of the Peterson home,

police spotted what you might
call subtle clues.

There's, like, you know, not any
obvious evidence of foul play.

They notice a pail and a mop.

I said, "What about
the mop bucket?

Why is the cement
all wet outside?

Did you, like, mop up?"

He had an excuse or an answer
for everything.

Karas:
Detectives take Scott to his
warehouse on Christmas Eve.

He tells them there's no
electricity at the warehouse.

Which, of course, was a huge
lie.

So it forced Al to have to turn
his car

pointing into the warehouse with
the overhead door rolled up

with his headlights on so he
could look around in there.

They observe some dust
on a wooden table

or something that looked like
he was making his own anchor.

There were the concentric
rings of residue

that Al Brocchini spotted
on that trailer

which suggested that it wasn't
just one anchor made,

but it was actually
four or five.

They knew Scott Peterson was in
the San Francisco Bay.

He had a receipt
at the Berkeley Marina.

And the prosecution's theory was
is that he used those anchors

as a way to weigh
down Laci's body

when he threw her
into the San Francisco Bay,

so they spent a lot of time

searching the Bay
in San Francisco.

Brocchini:
During the search of the marina,

we had set up a podium
in the parking lot.

We had a sergeant that was
assigned there

that could help
answer questions.

The press was there.

Boats are out there searching,

and we were keeping
an eye on Scott.

We found out that Scott
was actually up

in the San Francisco Bay area

watching searchers search for
Laci during that period of time.

The odd thing was that Scott
didn't drive his own car.

First he borrowed one
from a friend,

and then he rented one
from Enterprise,

but police were still able
to track him

to the Berkeley Marina.

Brocchini: He didn't, like,
contact anybody there and say,

"How's the search going,"
or "How's it going?"

He just watched, and then
he drove all the way home.

The investigators thought
that was very suspicious

that he was watching them
search the San Francisco Bay.

And so a total of five times,

we either followed him
to the marina

or we tracked him there
with the tracker on his car.

His conduct just didn't
make sense.

Reporter: There will be
a candlelight vigil

in about 2 hours
there in Modesto.

♪ Amazing grace
How sweet ♪

At the vigil, it became apparent
that there was a stark contrast

between Sharon Rocha
and Scott Peterson.

Reporter: Casey Jordan,
as you look at this,

what really stands out
in this case?

What perplexes you the most?

Jordan: Well, I think almost
everyone'll agree

that it's the behavior
of Scott Peterson.

From the very first day
that Laci was reported by Scott

as missing,
his demeanor was odd.

McAllister:
Well, I mean, you could say
he had a full plate.

He was looking for his wife.

He was the focus
of the police investigation,

and he knew that.

He was hounded
by the media and others.

It was a pretty stressful
time for him.

Rowlands: Boy, they really
seem convinced

that you are
withholding something.

They do seem convinced of that

by what you see in the media,
certainly, and again,

they're -- we're all in
a terrible situation here,

and I've been cooperative
with the police

and continue to be.

And no one can judge our son
by his behavior

because they've not been there.

Police briefing reporters
tonight

about their search
for a missing pregnant woman

talked at length
about her husband.

Brocchini:
The longer this went on, we felt
Scott was involved.

We thought or we had enough
evidence

that okay, Scott did this.

He's the only one that knows
what really happened.

Jordan: A few days after Laci
disappeared,

police are contacted
by Amber Frey,

and she tells them
that she is Scott's girlfriend.

Scott told me
he was not married.

We did have
a romantic relationship.

Laci Peterson's family
instantly turned on Scott.

Scott Peterson became
public enemy number one.

Jordan:
After the bodies were found
near the San Francisco Bay,

Modesto police were
able to obtain a warrant.

Wesden: Scott Peterson
has been arrested.

He'll be charged
with capital murder.

It's Monday, April 21, 2003.

I'm Wolf Blitzer reporting live.

First, in California,
Scott Peterson suspected

of killing his wife
and unborn son

just went before a judge
to answer the accusations.

Reporter:
At his arraignment today,
he pleaded not guilty.

Because he is charged
with more than one murder,

prosecutors could seek
the death penalty.

The prosecution theory
of the case

was that Scott Peterson
murdered Laci some time

on the evening
of December 23, 2002.

And then, of course, on that
same evening

that Laci had a phone call with
her mom, Sharon,

which was the last time that we
can show anybody

actually spoke to Laci outside
of perhaps Scott.

Police believe it was
a soft kill,

meaning something
that doesn't leave

a lot of forensic
evidence behind.

Jordan: There was an indentation
in the bed

to led police to believe
that Scott had knelt over Laci

and either strangled
or suffocated her.

Killing her in the bed,
having enough body weight

to be able to crush three ribs
as he's doing it.

The medical examiner said
that it appeared

that the broken ribs
were around the time of death.

They also believe that Scott
wrapped up

her body in something,

put duct tape around her,
and put her in his truck

and transported her
to the warehouse

where he then put her in a boat.

Buehler:
We confirmed that somebody
her size would fit in the boat

because one of the clerks
that worked at the DA's

office was about the same
stage pregnancy as Laci was,

and we did a photo demonstration
of her curled up inside the boat

where she fit in there
with no problem.

And then drove to the Bay almost
90 miles away to dump her body.

Scott did several things
that made police think

maybe this was premeditated.

Karas:
He had bought a two-day fishing
license

dated December 23rd and 24th,
and he bought it

just a few days earlier,
like December 20th.

Three weeks before Laci
even goes missing,

he tells Amber Frey
that he lost his wife.

Why would he say that he had
lost his wife

long before Laci went missing?

Jordan:
Scott went right out, within
a month after she disappeared,

and sold her car.

If your wife is missing
and you want her to come home,

why would you sell her car?

He wanted to sell the house
furnished within a month or so.

He decides that he not only
wants to rent the porn channel

on his cable subscription,

but he upgrades it
to the XXX variety.

All these things, if you really
look at them separate,

none of them
really mean anything,

and they don't hold
much significance,

but if you put them together,

it's almost like a jigsaw puzzle
on your kitchen table.

You might have a few pieces
missing,

but you know
what the picture is.

I think people were
scrutinizing him so closely

that anybody would
look peculiar.

I do have some doubt
in this case.

♪♪

We're not into arguing
reasonable doubt in this case.

We've set the bar
extremely high,

and that's to prove that Scott
is not only factually innocent

but to figure out
exactly who it is

did this horrible thing
to Scott's wife

and to Scott's son
and to their grandson.

You got to understand
that a lot of murders

don't happen
in front of witnesses,

so this case had to be built
on circumstantial evidence,

but there's no evidence
of exactly when she died

or how she died,

so police had to look
at Scott Peterson's conduct

and his many lies.

I do have some doubt
in this case.

I think people were scrutinizing
him so closely

that anybody
would look peculiar.

Rowlands: From the very instant
that the police encountered

Scott Peterson,
they were suspicious.

Scott Peterson knew
he was a suspect in this case

because the police were
rummaging through his home

within days
of his wife's disappearance.

Within 2 or 3 days of Scott
being put under the microscope,

he hired local attorney
Kirk McAllister,

who was a former prosecutor.

McAllister was soon replaced
after Scott's parents

reached out to high profile
defense attorney Mark Geragos.

I got a phone call from Scott's
dad,

and then I ended up talking to
Scott's mom.

And by the time I was done
talking to them,

I was intrigued.

And they asked me
to go visit him,

and I did,
and I became convinced,

once I visited him,
that he wasn't good for this.

Scott's parents have gone public
saying that they believe

that the police here
bungled this investigation.

And the police did
a lousy investigation.

They should go back
and look at it again.

Lee: Someone took Laci
and the baby's life,

and we're going to find them.

We're going to make
every effort.

They believe that there were
other credible

leads that weren't followed

because they were
so focused on their son.

Woman: Scott's parents have been
saying that the police

have convicted their son before
even a trial

and insist that the police are
avoiding other leads,

what other leads are they
referring to?

The defense strategy relied
heavily on unexplained events

that coincided with
Laci's disappearance.

First there were Laci-sighting
witnesses,

people who saw Laci
walking the dog

after Scott left for the marina.

We had tips from people saying
they thought they saw Laci

walking the dog
in the neighborhood.

The fact is that
the eyewitnesses

who saw Laci Peterson
all share a common theme,

and that's the fact
that they phoned the police,

that they tried
to tell their stories,

and in every case, the police
failed to follow up with them.

Rowlands:
One of the reports that came out
was that someone had seen

a brown van in the neighborhood
that caused a lot of suspicion.

There was a woman who was
sexually assaulted

in a van in a park.

Buehler:
It was a tip that was called in
to our tip line

from a sexual assault counselor.

People who assaulted her
were satanists.

Man:
There have been news reports
suggesting

that maybe the people in the van
had 666 on their shirts.

Cole: Now the cops did go out
and they talked to people

they thought were
the right people in the van,

and that was it.

That was the end of that.

There was no evidence that Laci
was ever in that van.

Woman: Hi, Larry.

My question is, there were
reports that Laci's neighbor

was robbed the same day
as her disappearance.

Could there be any connections
to that?

The date of the burglary
is still a sticking point

between prosecutors
and Scott's lawyers

because it basically sets
the timeline of what happened.

The defense insists that the
burglary took place on the 24th,

the same morning
that Laci disappeared.

Police believe the burglars.

The burglars told them that,

yes, they're guilty
of the burglary,

but it happened on the 26th.

That's two days after Laci
disappeared

making the burglary irrelevant,

but it's still a bone of
contention today.

Geragos:
On the 26th, there was a media
camped out on that front lawn

literally doing live shots

where they're facing the house
that was burglarized.

Brocchini:
What they said was when they did
the burglary,

all the cameras were out there.

Geragos:
The Modesto PD has said,
"Well, the burglars had said

it was the 26th,
so we believe the burglars,"

and I just -- you know, really?

They both took polygraphs.

They both passed polygraphs.

Rowlands:
But the Peterson family,
specifically, and his attorneys

believe this is a huge mistake
by the Modesto police.

Reporter:
Mark Geragos gave a bold finish
to opening statements,

proclaiming Scott Peterson
is not only innocent

but stone cold innocent.

I've never seen anything
like this.

It was a complete disaster
for prosecutors.

♪♪

King:
Tonight, Scott Peterson back
in court with jury selection

underway for his upcoming
double murder trial.

Who's going to decide his fate?

The first of hundreds
of potential jurors

started filling out
30-page questionnaires today.

Reporter:
You could have heard a pin
drop in the courtroom

as the first 100
prospective jurors

were introduced
to the defendant.

Scott Peterson stood, turned to
the audience, and said,

"Hello, good morning to you,"
and smiled.

He stood up and kind of
just waved kind of almost like,

you know,
one of those pageant waves,

you know, at the crowd,
and smiled.

Jordan:
There may have been quiet
in the courtroom,

but just outside,
it was more like a circus.

Rowlands: The trial is in
the San Francisco Bay area,

and near the courthouse,

a radio station took out
this huge billboard.

Picture of Scott, orange hair,
in an orange jumpsuit,

that said something like...

"Man or monster?"

Any potential juror
heading to the courthouse

would have seen that billboard.

Obviously, the community
had judged Scott guilty.

I wanted a change of venue.

King: Jury selection delayed
in Scott Peterson's murder trial

so the judge can consider a new
motion for a change of venue.

Grace: Well, I can understand
why Mark Geragos

says it's so hard
to get a jury

because he wants to go
to a different location.

I wanted Orange county.

I figured that would probably
have the greatest percentage

of adulterous golfers
anywhere.

The judge denied the change
of venue request

because he believed they could
find an impartial jury

in San Mateo county.

The jury selection process
concluded here this morning.

Six men and six women have been
chosen to decide

Scott Peterson's fate.

Beratlis: I think everybody was
pretty nervous.

I was pretty somber about it.

You know, I did not know what
to expect.

Today, 12 jurors
in Redwood City, California,

heard opening statements
in Peterson's trial.

Day one of the Scott
Peterson trial

proving to be a one-sided affair
as the prosecution

is taking all day
to lay out its opening remarks.

It was one of the most thorough

opening statements
I've ever seen.

He dismantled Scott Peterson's

multiple statements
to the police,

to the media, where he made
inconsistent statements,

where he lied.

The problem was that
one of Scott's

lies that they presented
to the jury,

they didn't quite get right.

In the opening statements,

the prosecution
screwed up horribly.

They came out and told the jury
that Scott had lied

about watching
Martha Stewart on TV.

The prosecutor claimed that
when Laci disappeared,

Scott said she was watching
the Martha Stewart show.

They told the jury the show
Scott claimed to watch

never aired that day.

Well, it did air, and the
defense played it for the jury.

This is a recipe inspired by
one of my favorite pastry chefs

in Paris,
Monsieur Lerche.

That hurt because
the prosecution had said,

"Oh, that was
one of Scott's lies."

I played it twice
in case Brocchini

missed it the first time
I showed it.

The defense had two words
for the prosecution's case

against Scott Peterson today --
Flimsy and circumstantial.

Christian:
Geragos, in his opening
statement,

was able to throw a lot of doubt
into the prosecution's theories.

Man: In less than 3 hours,
Geragos showed the jury maps

pinpointing multiple Laci
Peterson sightings

the day of her disappearance,

autopsy photos of the baby
the family called Conner,

saying the baby was born alive
after Laci disappeared,

and he pointed out how detailed
searches of the Peterson house

and warehouse produced
no evidence of murder.

Mark Geragos gave a bold finish
to opening statements,

proclaiming Scott Peterson
is not only innocent

but stone cold innocent.

It was a complete disaster
for prosecutors

in the early stages
of this trial.

Every witness they put on,
Mark Geragos

would twist and turn

and flip that person
into a defense witness.

There were a lot of cynics
who were commenting

that there's a lot of smoke,
but you know,

nothing that was really solid
against Scott Peterson.

Reporter:
There are many questions.

How did Laci Peterson die?

Was her baby born alive?

The defense was basically
saying, you know,

"We're going to show you
how the prosecution did not do

their due diligence
in this investigation."

Reporter:
The defense wants the jury
to know

that many tips in this case
were not investigated by police.

They were actually asking
the prosecution,

"Did you ever investigate?
Did you ever follow up?

Did you talk to the person
on the bridge?

Did you check with the bikers
in the neighborhood?"

I mean, it was just kind of like
there was a lot of loose ends.

Then just 3 weeks
into the trial, a jury shake-up.

One of the jurors
was accused of misconduct.

Is there jury trouble
at the Scott Peterson trial?

Fairly early on in
the prosecution's case in chief,

juror number five,
Justin Falconer,

had actually spoken
to Laci's brother,

Brent Rocha,
at the metal detectors.

Cooper: There was a pool camera
which caught a juror

actually talking to Laci
Peterson's brother.

Karas:
You are not supposed to have
any contact,

you know,
with the family.

And Falconer had to have known
who Rocha was.

Justin Falconer is a
28-year-old airport screener.

Today, he was thrown off
the case.

He was very pro defense.

Then Falconer started showing up
on TV talk shows.

Oh, he'd be innocent.

The prosecution hasn't shown us
any reason to believe otherwise.

I remember being annoyed
at that only because

he didn't hear
all the evidence.

The only thing solid they have
is the fact that,

you know, Laci did wash up
where she did

and Scott
did place himself there,

but even that's speculation
as to how she got there.

It seemed like he was everywhere
speaking his mind,

and according to his mind,
Scott Peterson should get off.

Grace:
Stories of sex and suspicion.

Cardoza: Those tape recordings
spoke for themselves,

but they were
about an affair,

not about his
maybe killing his wife.

♪♪

Welcome back to
"How It Really Happened."

The prosecution's case
against Scott Peterson

was built largely
on circumstantial evidence

that the defense appeared
to easily undermine.

Momentum was shifting,

and it looked like Peterson
might just get off,

until Amber Frey, the State's
star witness, took the stand.

Zahn: Tonight, the star witness
in the Scott Peterson case --

champagne, strawberries,
and sex,

the ex-mistress takes the stand.

King:
Detailing their relationship,
including the first date,

which ended with them spending
an intimate night together.

Up until Amber Frey
took the stand,

the prosecution seemed
to be stumbling.

Amber Frey had
secretly recorded

more than 100 phone calls
with Scott

all after his wife
had disappeared.

I can't stress enough how
the tables turned in the trial

once Amber Frey
was on the stand

and these recordings
were played.

Jordan:
The tapes recorded at the
request of the Modesto

police dropped bombshell
after bombshell.

Rowlands: Amber tells the jury
about the call

that she received 3 weeks
before Laci disappeared

where Scott told her
that he had lost his wife.

There was a physical reaction

that you could see
in the jurors.

They were getting disgusted.

She starts to press him
and saying,

"Hey, what's going on, Scott?
What's the deal?"

They looked at Scott Peterson
as being so odd,

so different that
he was not only a cheat,

but in their minds
he was capable of anything,

including murder.

And it just got worse
for the defense.

The jury heard how Scott
had lied to Amber.

He told her he was in Paris
on New Year's Eve.

But he was actually in Modesto
at a vigil for his missing wife.

He's at a vigil for Laci,
and he's calling his mistress.

Karas:
He was in the crowd, refusing
to go up on the stage

with all the other family
members.

Jurors were absolutely disgusted

listening to this guy
tell these incredible lies.

Those tape recordings
spoke for themselves,

but they were about an affair,

not about his maybe
killing his wife.

The prosecution's final witness,
number 174,

was Detective Jon Buehler.

He described for the jury
what was in Scott's possession

at the time he was arrested.

He was in San Diego and clearly
headed for the Mexican border.

Scott was in a little two-door
convertible red Mercedes.

He had two or three cell phones,
climbing rope, neck ties,

toothbrush,
his brother's driver's license,

a book from Amber,
a picture of his wife,

dress shoes,
hiking shoes, and flip-flops.

He's got $14,932 in cash.

He could go from the beach
to the yacht club

to the Sierras
in the same day

and look like he belonged
at all three places.

These were the things that I
was explaining to the jury

so they could draw
their own conclusion.

After 19 weeks of testimony,
the State has finally rested.

The evidence is on the table,

but is it enough
to get a guilty verdict?

Then it was the defense's turn.

King: Tonight, Scott Peterson's
defense finally making its case.

Will Mark Geragos put
Scott Peterson on the stand?

The defense had made a lot of
bold promises

during opening statements.

What the defense felt was a
critical demonstration

involving Scott's boat
was denied by the judge.

The state's theory was that
he had four anchors

that he had made,
four cement anchors.

Reporter:
They charged he used them
to weigh down his wife's body

when he threw her
into the water.

But the defense reached
a different decision,

so they got the same model boat,
and they got a mannequin

rigged up
with the exact weight of Laci.

They put on four anchors.

They went out into the Bay,
and they videotaped it,

and they pushed that dummy
over the side of the boat,

and in each of those tests,
the boat capsized.

They went back to court,

wanted that videotape
into evidence,

and Judge Delucchi said,

"No. It's not
scientifically accepted."

Reporter:
Observers say so far Geragos is
not delivering the dramatic case

he promised
in opening statements.

Many thought that the only
person who could save

Scott Peterson
was Scott Peterson.

Would he take the stand?

King:
We're going to start tonight
with Michael Cardoza.

Larry, the defense team came to
me

and asked me if I would conduct

a mock cross-examination
of Scott Peterson.

I can't tell you how he did.

I think you can draw
your own inferences.

Scott Peterson did not testify
in the trial.

After just 1 week,
the defense rests,

and now, it's
in the jury's hands.

Out of the blue she goes,
"He's got to fry.

He's guilty."

She was ready to hang him
at that point.

What the hell is going on?

Nancy Grace, there's no
other way to put it.

Where are we?

Larry, you're right, there is no
other way to put it.

♪♪

Fladager: How can you convince a
jury that someone

who may look so normal is
capable of doing

something so extraordinarily
evil?

Reporter:
Redwood City, California.

After months of testimony,
hundreds of witnesses,

the jury finally has
the Scott Peterson case.

As a member of the media
covering the trial,

once it went to the jury,

you have nothing to cover
except the wait,

and you could feel the tension.

Cooper:
They've been in the jury room
for 2 days now

and still no sign
of a verdict.

Like everything else
in this case,

even jury deliberations
were filled with drama.

Grace: Emotions
in the Scott Peterson trial

are running high tonight.

The six men and six women
of the jury

are apparently deeply divided.

I just remember the deliberation
was really tense.

I think everybody
was pretty nervous.

King: Tonight, a Scott Peterson
jury shake-up.

Juror number seven dismissed

after a hearing
into possible misconduct.

During deliberations
juror number seven, a woman,

was dismissed
because she had gone online

to look at something,
and that's a no-no.

All of a sudden, she says,
"I think I might have done

something that
I shouldn't have done."

She did some sort of
independent research

and came back
and reported her findings.

In other words, "You're not
allowed to learn more."

Varinsky:
You have to get all of your
evidence from the witness stand.

Karas:
The woman who replaced juror
number seven was Richelle Nice.

Richelle comes in,
and we're starting all over

because now we've got
another juror,

and we want to do it right.

Karas: A lot of the jurors
had nicknames from the press,

and her nickname was
Strawberry Shortcake,

which was, you know,
a term of endearment.

Reporter: This is a woman who is
in her late 20s, early 30s,

she's referred to by some
as Strawberry Shortcake.

She dyes her hair
different colors.

She has four children

and has been very emotional
during the trial.

So now we start all over again.

So we went through it,
and out of the blue,

she goes,
"He's got to fry. He's guilty."

That is not a person
that vetted this evidence,

that went through it carefully.

She was running on all emotion.

And we're like, "No, no,
cool your jets.

We want to go through this.

We're not going to be swayed
just because you walk in

and say we got to move forward,"

and we had a process,
and we wanted to make sure.

We just don't make
a decision just like that.

King:
Tonight, another Scott Peterson
juror dismissed,

second one in 2 days,
and this time it's the foreman.

The foreman basically
quit the jury.

Reporter:
We understand there had been
a battle in the jury room

early on,
a lot of contention

that was allegedly
with juror number five.

Apparently when he was removed,

it removed
a lot of that contention.

Beratlis:
He held a degree as a doctor
and held a degree in law.

So we thought he was the perfect
choice for a foreperson,

but you just saw
his demeanor change.

He wanted to go very slowly
through all the evidence

that the prosecution
has laid out.

A lot of jurors
didn't want to do that.

They were saying, "Come on,
there's enough here,"

and they argued and they argued.

It was the way he was conducting
the proceedings

that really alienated some of
the jurors who were upset.

So he wanted out,
and he got replaced.

King:
What the hell is going on?

Nancy Grace, there's no
other way to put it.

Where are we?

Larry, you're right.

There is no other way to put it.

Having three jurors
thrown off of one jury

in this this short space of time
is basically unheard of.

Reporter:
A new day, a new juror.

It is the latest surprise
from the tumultuous jury

deliberations in the Scott
Peterson trial.

There's a lot of speculation
there could be a hung jury.

I think so many of us
were convinced

that this jury would just never
be able to reach a verdict.

Rowlands:
We figured, all right,

it's going to be
several more days then,

but it only took
a matter of hours,

and we got word
that there was a verdict.

Reporter:
This is CNN breaking news.

The verdict in the Scott
Peterson murder trial

is finally in.

Karas: The judge did allow
an audio feed,

meaning, like, big speakers
were outside on the plaza

to hear the reading
of the verdict.

Man:
The judge is taking his seat
on the bench.

Reporter:
Outside the courthouse,

hundreds of people who have
been following this trial

came to see
the verdict firsthand.

Grace:
To the end, this was really
a cliff-hanger for everyone.

No one knew which way
this was going to go.

Karas: I'm watching the jury
file in.

And the jurors are coming into
their seats,

and I saw the black female juror
looking

Sharon Rocha's direction.

And give a...

I was thinking, "Oh, my God,
he's going to be convicted."

Woman: The State of California
versus Scott Peterson.

We the jury
in the above-entitled cause

find the defendant
Scott Lee Peterson guilty

of the crime of murder
of Laci Denise Peterson.

We were stunned.

Beratlis:
I do remember looking over
at Scott

when the verdict was,
looking for a reaction,

and Scott, I don't know
if he was drugged up or not,

but there was no reaction.

It was basically
maybe disbelief,

but he just kind of
stared into space.

Woman:
Peterson guilty of the crime
of murder...

[Cheering]

Once you got over that shock,

you could hear outside
the roar of the crowd.

[Cheering]

It was as if we were
in the Roman Colosseum

and the emperor had given
the thumbs down sign

and everyone was thrilled
that that poor Christian

was going to get eaten
by a lion.

[Cheering]

Beratlis: I do remember,
from where we were,

we could hear the crowd
through the window

screaming and horns
honking.

[Car horns honking]

Beratlis:
It didn't make us happy.

It was a quiet moment.

Blitzer: Scott Peterson
is guilty of murder,

first degree murder,
for killing his wife, Laci,

and he's guilty
of second degree murder

for killing their unborn
son, Conner.

Christian:
Scott didn't really show much
reaction to the guilty verdict,

but according to a recent
A & E documentary

and it's his first interview
since this conviction,

he told his sister-in-law,
Janie,

something completely different.

Man: Prosecutor Dave Harris
told jurors, quote...

After the verdict and
during the sentencing phase,

Laci Peterson's mother,
Sharon Rocha, got up and spoke.

You could feel her pain
and her anger.

She turned to Scott and said,

"You could have
gotten a divorce.

Why did you have to kill her?"

Sharon couldn't have been
more powerful.

She was moving.

She was articulate, emotional.

It was everything a prosecutor
could ask for.

♪♪

There was a juror that,
come to find out later,

had lied about her past.

And I have one comment
for Scott.

♪♪

Reporter:
The tension here is mounting.

There are already a couple
of hundred people here anxious

to hear what the final judgment
will be against Scott Peterson.

Will it be life in prison
without parole,

or will they
sentence him to death?

Reporter:
The audio feed is starting.

Let's listen to the courtroom.

Woman: People of California
versus Scott Peterson.

We the jury in the
above-entitled cause

fix the penalty at death.

Reporter:
There were no tears.

Scott Peterson showed
no emotion,

very, very stoic,
very somber in that courtroom.

King:
Tonight, Scott Peterson's jury
recommends the death penalty,

and his attorney vows
to pursue all avenues of appeal.

It became apparent to me
within the first week

or 2 weeks of the trial

that there were jurors
on that case who,

they didn't care
about the evidence.

They had an agenda.

Jordan:
Mark Geragos said he always
had reservations

about that jury pool,

but I don't think anyone
expected what happened next.

Outside of the courthouse,
a few of the jurors

held an impromptu
press conference.

He is a jerk, and I have
one comment for Scott --

you look somebody in the face
when they are talking to you.

Well, Scott came in with a great
big smile on his face, laughing.

If you saw the reaction
of the jurors to the verdict,

when they came out and they
were basically trash talking,

you could see that this was not
a deliberative process for them.

He's on his way home,
Scott figures.

Well, guess what, Scotty.

San Quentin is your new home.

And it is illegal to kill your
wife and child in California.

I was really disgusted by that.

The way they reacted with
the emotion, with a viciousness.

I just turned away and said,
"My God, this is a mob."

The juror called
Strawberry Shortcake, my Lord.

There was a juror that,
come to find out later,

had lied in voir dire
about her past

and having her been
a victim of domestic violence.

Scott Peterson was
Laci's husband, Conner's daddy,

and for him to have done that --

We know now according
to the defense,

that she wasn't
completely candid

in her jury questionnaire.

Geragos:
Richelle, mind you, was not
in the jury initially.

She's the subject of the appeal
and rightfully so.

Christian:
Juror Richelle Nice denies
that she lied

in her jury questionnaire,

but that's just
one of the many issues

that come up
in Scott's appeal.

His appeal also places
a lot of emphasis

on his attorney
Mark Geragos,

and it cites ineffective
assistance of counsel.

Nancy, what do you think?

Well, I'll be blunt.

I think he lost basically
in opening statement

when he promised to
deliver things to a jury

he never brought forward.

Karas: One thing the defense
cannot say

is that they didn't
get a fair trial.

Mark Geragos promised the jury

that they would hear
from witnesses

who saw Laci after Scott
left to go fishing,

but he never put them on,

but he could have,
and he didn't.

Scott's appeal argues that there
were several pieces of evidence

that were never
presented at trial,

and his new lawyers believe that
may have cost Scott his freedom.

Look, if I get found
ineffective on this case,

what's called IAC,
more power to him.

Nothing would make me happier.

If he gets a new trial based
on that, I want that to happen.

Cardoza:
I don't believe the appeal is
going to work in this case.

I believe that the most
Scott Peterson can hope for

is that the Supreme Court
reduces his death penalty

to a life
without possibility of parole.

I think that this case
will get reversed.

If there's any justice,
this case will get reversed.

Did Scott Peterson
really kill Laci?

It really all depends
on who you ask.

Rowlands:
I don't doubt that Scott
Peterson is a schmuck

and the strangest man
I've ever encountered,

and his behavior
is unexplainable,

but I have my doubts in how
he was able to pull it off,

how he was able to
physically pull it off

without leaving
a shred of evidence.

Brocchini:
The last person that ever saw
Laci alive was Scott Peterson,

and the last person that saw
her dead was Scott Peterson,

so there's no doubt in my mind
that Scott Peterson did it.

I'm one of those small guys on
the island of Scott's innocence.

I probably will go to my grave
believing that.

Jordan:
I believe the jury in this case
was a very thoughtful jury.

They took one vote,
and they took it seriously,

and it was unanimous
for his guilt.

When they delivered
that verdict,

I don't think there was
a person in America

that thought
they got it wrong.

Beratlis:
I don't regret my decision
making on his guilt.

I believe he's guilty of that.

I listened to what was said
in that courtroom.

I followed what I was told
by the letter of the law,

and I didn't
do anything else.

We found him for death.

We basically killed a man.

I don't take that lightly.

♪♪

Scott Peterson was sent
to death row

at San Quentin State Prison
in California.

The prosecutor spent
$2.6 million

on a trial
that put him there.

184 witnesses testified and 12
jurors sealed his fate.

Was he railroaded
as the defense claims or did he,

as the jury concluded,
commit these heinous crimes?

In 2004, Sharon Rocha played
a key role

in getting Laci
and Conner's law passed.

Known as the Unborn Victims
of Violence Act,

the federal law makes a crime
against a pregnant woman

a crime against
two separate people.

I'm Hill Harper.

Thanks for watching.

♪♪