Laci Peterson

Laci Peterson was a housewife and substitute teacher whose disappearance on Christmas Eve 2002 gripped the nation. As the weeks dragged on, suspicion began to fall on her husband, Scott Peterson. On April 18, 2003, the remains of Laci and her unborn son, Conner, whom she was due to deliver on February 10, washed up three miles from where Peterson said was fishing on Christmas Eve. Peterson, his hair dyed blonde, was arrested in San Diego with $15,000 in cash and a survival kit in the truck of his car; police speculated he was preparing to flee to Mexico. It was later learned he was having an affair with Amber Frey before and after Laci went missing, and had cheated on Laci throughout their marriage. The prosecution theorized he murdered Laci because he wanted to be rid of the impending responsibility of fatherhood. On November 12, 2004, despite the lack of any direct physical evidence, he was convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances in the deaths of Laci and Conner. On March 16, 2005, Peterson was sentenced to death, and sent to San Quentin State Prison.