It was one of the most notorious crimes of the early 2000s.
Scott Peterson was convicted and sentenced to death for killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn child. Now, a judge in San Mateo County, California, may let Peterson make the case that newly discovered evidence could exonerate him, according to a report by ABC News.
The report indicates that a remote status hearing has been scheduled after the case was taken up by the Los Angeles Innocence Project, which provides pro bono legal services to incarcerated individuals. So far no date for the hearing has been made public.
Court filings obtained by ABC News state that attorneys representing Scott claimed his state and federal constitutional rights were violated and "new evidence now supports Mr. Peterson's longstanding claim of innocence and raises many questions into who abducted and killed Laci and Conner Peterson."
Laci Peterson, who was 27 years old at the time, was eight months pregnant when she disappeared on Christmas Eve, 2002. Her body was found in the San Francisco Bay four months later.
Scott, 51, was arrested and charged with first-degree murder for Laci's death and second-degree murder for the baby's death. He was convicted in 2004 and sentenced to death in 2005. However, his death sentence was overturned in 2020, and he is now serving a life sentence without parole.
