Nearly 22 years after Scott Peterson was convicted of murdering his pregnant wife Laci, a retired Los Angeles Police Department detective has joined his legal team in arguing that the case deserves a fresh look. Ninette Toosbuy, who appears in a new A&E docuseries titled «Scott Peterson: The New Evidence,» told Fox News Digital that Modesto police failed to follow basic missing-person protocols, potentially overlooking critical witnesses who could have cleared Peterson.
«When you initially have a missing person's case, there are certain protocols, certain things that must be done, and that is to follow up on every possible lead to determine when and where the missing person was last seen,» Toosbuy said. «That wasn't done in this case. That alone got me very interested in looking deeper into the matter. I think that Scott Peterson does deserve a new trial. I think any individual who's not given a fair trial to begin with deserves that. A new trial would be the right course of action.»
Peterson, now 53, was convicted in 2004 of murdering Laci, who was eight months pregnant, on Christmas Eve 2002. Prosecutors said he dumped her body in San Francisco Bay. The remains of the 27-year-old and their unborn son, Conner, washed ashore months later. A jury initially sentenced Peterson to death, but that sentence was later overturned, and he is now serving life in prison without the possibility of parole.
The docuseries highlights 15 individuals who reported seeing Laci walking her dog, McKenzie, on the morning of Dec. 24, 2002 — after the time Peterson told investigators he had already left for a fishing trip. Toosbuy argued that these sightings, if credible, would have immediately excluded Peterson as a suspect. «Why wasn't this absolutely exhausted?» she asked. «You've got witnesses, people in the neighborhood, who reached out to Modesto PD once they heard there was a missing person's investigation going on.» She added that basic investigative procedure requires tracking down every lead, interviewing witnesses, and physically visiting the locations where they claimed to have seen Laci.
Prosecutors have long maintained that many of those reported sightings were unreliable or inconsistent. Chris Pixley, an Atlanta-based defense attorney featured in the documentary, told People magazine that Modesto police largely disregarded the varying accounts and that Peterson's defense team did not call any of those witnesses to testify during the trial. «You have to wonder whether the trial would have had a different outcome,» Pixley said.
Peterson's attorneys with the Los Angeles Innocence Project also point to a burglary reported at the home of Rudy and Susan Medina, which was across the street from the Petersons' residence on the morning Laci disappeared. A burned-out van containing a mattress with what appeared to be bloodstains was found about a mile from Peterson's home on Christmas Day. The defense has argued that Laci could have interrupted the robbery and been abducted and killed by the burglars. Two men were convicted in connection with the Medina burglary but denied any involvement in Laci's disappearance and were never charged in her death.
Toosbuy expressed skepticism about the police investigation into the van. «I think it's bizarre that you find a van that was burned not far from Laci's neighborhood and do not explore the possibility that it's related,» she said. «I'm not saying that we know for sure it's related. However, it's suspicious, and you've got a woman who's now missing. Both of those things are unusual in a neighborhood like Modesto. You need to investigate whether there is a connection so that you can either eliminate the van or go further.»
Prosecutors have countered that there was no evidence linking the burglars to Laci's disappearance and have maintained that the Medina burglary occurred on Dec. 26, after she had already vanished. Attorneys for the Los Angeles Innocence Project have argued that only a small portion of the mattress fabric was tested for DNA, which they say is insufficient. When asked about the possibility of obtaining DNA evidence today, Toosbuy acknowledged that legal hurdles remain. «I don't know how much there is, and the courts would also have to OK it,» she said. «But from an investigative standpoint, I think it's really important that we find out what's on that mattress, if the possibility is there.»
Laci Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha, has dismissed the documentary's claims outright. «There is no new evidence,» she told People magazine. Fox News Digital also reached out to the Modesto Police Department for comment but did not receive a response. The case continues to generate public interest, with the docuseries reigniting debate over whether Peterson received a fair trial and whether crucial evidence was mishandled.
