Laci Peterson
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Laci Peterson, born Laci Denise Rocha (May 4, 1975 – ca. 25 December 2002), was last seen alive on December 23, 2002 and became the subject of one of the most discussed missing person cases in recent U.S. history. Her husband Scott Peterson was eventually convicted of her murder.
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[edit] Biography
Laci Peterson's parents, Dennis and Sharon Rocha, met in high school. The two quickly formed a serious relationship, and married soon after high school. In 1971, Dennis and Sharon Rocha had their first child, Brent Rocha. Four years later, Mrs. Rocha gave birth to Laci, on May 4th, 1975. After graduating high school, Laci attended California Polytechnic State University. While at Cal Poly, Laci Rocha met Scott Peterson at a small restaurant in Morro Bay called Pacific Cafe. [1] By December of 1996, they were engaged, although they had no plans to get married until they both graduated from college. After graduating and getting married, Laci and Scott Peterson conceived naturally in mid-2002. The baby was due on February 10, 2003.
[edit] Disappearance
Apart from her husband, the last person known to speak to Laci before her disappeareace was her mother, who talked to her by telephone on December 23rd, 2002. Shortly after ten o' clock the following morning, a neighbor found the family dog, McKenzie, running loose in the neighborhood, wearing a collar and muddy leash. Laci's 1996 Land Rover Discovery SE sport utility vehicle was in the driveway, and her purse (containing her keys and cell phone) was hanging in the bedroom closet. When Scott Peterson returned home from a fishing trip that evening, Laci was not there. He washed his clothes, ate some cold pizza, and took a shower. At that point, he began to wonder where Laci was, and called Sharon Rocha to ask if Laci was with her.
Police were called by 6 p.m. and an immediate search of the park and surrounding areas ensued. Police, family members, and neighbors searched widely with foot searchers, all-terrain vehicles, patrol cars, sport utility vehicles, helicopters with search lights and heat sensors, water rescue units, search dogs and horseback teams [2]. Law enforcement agencies from several counties became involved. Police immediately suspected foul play, doubting Laci would vanish on Christmas Eve without contacting anybody. At a press conference, detective Al Brocchini said, "That is completely out of character for her" [3].
A US $25,000 reward was offered (which later increased to $500,000). Posters and ribbons and fliers circulated, and the LaciPeterson.com website was launched. Friends, family and volunteers set up a command center at a nearby hotel to record developments and circulate information, and over 1,000 volunteers signed up to distribute information and help search [4]. Critics alleged that this was another example of Missing White Woman Syndrome, and that other cases of similar calibre were being ignored by the media and the community. [citation needed]
From the start, Peterson was reluctant to talk to the press; at one point, he stormed out of a family press conference when reporters asked if the police considered him a suspect. Laci's brother, Brent Rocha, defended Scott, claiming that Scott was too distraught to make public statements about Laci, and adding that that did not mean he was involved in her disappearance. "No way," Rocha said, "Absolutely not." Laci's family maintained Scott's innocence, [5], and volunteers said that he joined their efforts at the command center every day.
It was later revealed that Scott Peterson had had numerous extramarital affairs, the most recent with a massage therapist named Amber Frey. Frey informed the police that two weeks before Laci's disappearance, Peterson had told her that he was a widower, having "lost his wife." During the trial, the audio recordings of Peterson and Frey's telephone conversations were played, and the transcripts were publicized. The contents were damning for Peterson. They revealed that in the days after Laci went missing, Peterson claimed to be celebrating the holidays in Paris. One of the phone calls to Frey had been made while he was at Laci's New Year's Eve candlelight vigil.
On April 13, 2003, the decomposed body of a late term male fetus, his umbilical cord still attached, was found on the San Francisco Bay shore near Richmond, north of Berkeley. One day later, the body of a recently-pregnant woman washed to shore one mile away from where the baby's body was found. The woman's cause of death was impossible to discern; due to decomposition, the body was decapitated, armless, and legless. DNA tests verified they were the bodies of Laci Peterson and her son, Conner.
[edit] Aftermath
Peterson was arrested on April 18, 2003 in La Jolla, California in the parking lot of a golf course, where he claimed to be meeting his father and brother for a game of golf. At the time of his arrest, Peterson was carrying $15,000 in cash, had four cell phones, camping equipment, a gun, a map to Frey's workplace that had been printed the day before, Viagra and his brother's driver's license [8]. His hair and goatee had been dyed blonde. The police took all of this as an indication that Peterson had planned to flee, possibly to nearby Mexico.
The death of Laci and her son led to the United States Congress passing the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, which is widely known as Laci and Conner's Law. On April 1, 2004, Sharon Rocha and Ron Grantski were in attendance at the White House when President George W. Bush signed the bill into law [6].
In late 2005, a Stanislaus County judge ruled that Peterson was not entitled to collect on his late wife's $250,000 life insurance policy, having been convicted of her murder. Under California state law, criminals may not profit from their crimes. On December 19, 2005, the money was given to Laci's mother, Sharon, the executor of her estate [7].
In 2006, Laci's mother, Sharon, wrote For Laci : A Mother's Story of Love, Loss, and Justice a biography and memoir about the life and death of her daughter.
[edit] References
- Rocha, Sharon (2006). For Laci. Crown Publishing Group.
- ^ CNN Profile of Laci Peterson
- ^ About.com: Laci Peterson
- ^ LaciPeterson.com
- ^ The Modesto Bee webpage
- ^ LaciPeterson.com
- ^ White House webpage
- ^ Court TV report dated 19 December 2005
