Secret prison call ‘hidden by cops’ reveal Laci Peterson’s ‘real killer’, claims convicted husband Scott’s ex-lawyer

CONVICTED killer Scott Peterson should be granted a new trial as a secret prison phone call allegedly withheld from the defense could point to his wife Laci’s “real murderer”, his ex-lawyer has claimed. Laci Peterson, 27, was eight months pregnant when she disappeared from the couple’s Modesto, California, home on Christmas Eve in 2002. Scott Peterson and wife Laci Peterson in an old family photograph celebrating Christmas Credit: Rex Investigators allegedly failed to disclose evidence recovered from a burned-out van after Laci disappeared Credit: LA Innocence Project Defense attorney Mark Geragos still believes his former client, Scott Peterson, is innocent Credit: The U.S. Sun A fishing boat belonging to Scott Peterson is seen in 2003 in Modesto, California Credit: Getty Scott told police he had spent the morning fishing alone at the Berkeley Marina. Four months later, the bodies of Laci and their unborn son, Conner, washed ashore separately along the San Francisco Bay shoreline near the area where Scott said he had been fishing. Sign up for The Sun newsletter Thank you! Scott, 51, was arrested and later convicted of first-degree murder for Laci’s death and second-degree murder for Conner’s death. He was located near the US-Mexico border with cash, multiple phones and a changed appearance after dyeing his hair and growing a goatee. Prosecutors argued it looked like he was preparing to flee, while Scott claimed he was simply trying to avoid intense media attention. He was accused of killing his wife before dumping her body in the bay, with the case relying largely on circumstantial evidence and his affair with massage therapist Amber Frey. Scott was sentenced to death in 2005, but the California Supreme Court overturned the sentence in 2020 because of jury selection errors. His murder convictions remain in place, and he is now serving life in prison without parole while continuing to maintain his innocence. Most read in The Sun Celebrated defense attorney Mark Geragos, who represented Scott during his 2004 trial, said a prison lieutenant overheard a recorded call between an inmate and someone allegedly connected to a burglary across the street from the Peterson home. During the conversation, the pair allegedly mentioned confronting Laci before abruptly ending the call after realizing it was being recorded. According to Geragos, the alleged prison call was documented by the lieutenant in real time but was never disclosed to the defense until after Peterson had been convicted. “I was handed a report that Modesto had been sitting on,” Geragos told The U.S. Sun. “A lieutenant at one of the Southern California prisons had overheard a recorded call between an inmate and somebody involved in the burglary. Scott Peterson addresses Judge Elizabeth Hill during a status conference at San Mateo County Superior Court in 2024 Credit: AP Scott Peterson and his wife, Laci, were married for just over five years before her disappearance in December 2002 Credit: Alamy “And they mentioned Laci Peterson and confronting Laci Peterson and quickly cut off the conversation because they realized it was recorded. “The lieutenant made a real-time notation of that. Modesto never turned that over to us until he was convicted.” Modesto police claim investigators looked into the burglary at the time and found no evidence connecting those involved to her murder. Prosecutors have disputed the characterization the call was hidden, arguing the tip was documented and that the defense had access to information about it during the case. Former detective Al Brocchini has also criticized the theory, calling it unsupported. But Geragos argues the call and the burglary evidence raise questions that deserve further examination. “My co-counsel, Pat Harris, always had the working theory that Laci’s disappearance was tied to the burglary across the street,” he said. The high-profile attorney also claimed investigators failed to disclose evidence recovered from a burned-out van discovered shortly after Laci disappeared. “There was a van recovered… that had been set on fire a day or two after Laci disappeared,” Geragos said. “In that van was a mattress and all kinds of DNA and other evidence that could be tested. “DOJ tested it. None of that was turned over to the defense.” Geragos alleged prosecutors had possession of the material for years. “The prosecution has had it for decades,” he said. “They never admitted it or turned it over until fairly recently. “Very disturbing on a number of levels.” Peterson’s latest bid for a new trial was rejected earlier this year, although Geragos said the case is now before the California Court of Appeal. Geragos appears in the A&E’s two-part documentary, Scott Peterson: The New Evidence. The film, streaming now, revisits one of America’s most controversial murder cases and explores what the defense says is newly uncovered evidence that could cast doubt on Scott’s conviction. His current legal team, working with the Los Angeles Innocence Project, asked a judge to allow DNA testing on the mattress and other evidence. In 2024, a judge denied testing on the van mattress, saying previous testing did not establish that the stains were blood and that the defense had not shown new technology would likely change that result. Geragos told The U.S. Sun, “I’ll pay for the DNA testing. I’m not involved in the defense. I’m somebody who wants finality.” The judge did allow DNA testing on one other piece of evidence: duct tape found on Laci’s clothing, but not the van mattress. The test has so far not produced any publicly released result that changes the case. Beyond the jail call and DNA testing, the documentary also revisits questions around the timeline of Laci’s disappearance. They include witness sightings of a pregnant woman walking a dog near the Peterson home, as well as new analysis of the water and forensic evidence surrounding where and when Laci’s body was discovered. More than 20 years after the trial, Geragos insists nothing has changed his view that Peterson is innocent. “I always believed in his innocence, and I still do,” he said. “I haven’t seen anything before, during or after that dissuades me from the idea that Scott did not do this.” Comment now