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Murder of Laci Peterson revisited in Netflix and Peacock documentaries

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This November marks the 20th anniversary of the day a jury found Scott Peterson guilty of killing his wife, Laci, and their unborn son. The child, who would have been named Conner, would have been the couple's first.

Ahead of that milestone, two documentaries are devoted to the 2002 tragedy that began when Laci, who was eight months pregnant, disappeared on Christmas Eve. Scott claimed he had gone fishing at Berkeley Marina, about 90 miles west of her home in Modesto, California. When he returned, Laci's car was in the driveway and her purse was intact, but she was not home, he said. He took his clothes to the laundry, ate pizza, took a shower and then called Laci's mother to tell her he thought she was missing.

Laci and Conner's bodies were found near the marina. Days later, authorities arrested Scott, who was carrying $15,000 and several cell phones. He is currently serving a life sentence at Mule Creek State Prison, about an hour southeast of Sacramento.

“American Murder: Laci Peterson” began streaming on Netflix on Wednesday, nearly a week before Peacock’s “Face to Face with Scott Peterson,” which launches on August 20.

The projects are the latest of many chronicling the saga. “American Murder” reviews evidence and builds a compelling case against Scott. It also features interviews with Laci's family, friends and police. “Face to Face” features the first interview with Scott, who has continued to insist he is innocent since his arrest, and the Los Angeles Innocence Project's efforts to demand a new trial in light of new evidence.

“I regret not testifying (at my trial), but if I get the chance to show people the truth and they are willing to accept it, that would be the greatest thing I can accomplish right now – because I did not kill my family,” Scott said, according to People.

Murder of Laci Peterson: Timeline of when the Scott Peterson case was taken up by the Innocence Project

Skye Borgman, director of “American Murder,” says her team was in contact with Scott for several months, but he ultimately declined to participate. Which was fine with her, she says.

“My project is really about Laci, and a lot of the other projects over the last few years or a lot of the current headlines are actually about Scott. And I think we've lost sight of who the victims of this crime were,” says Borgman. “That's something that's really important to me, and my work is geared toward putting the victims at the center.”

The only question she would have asked Scott? Simply: “Why?”

In Borgman's three-part documentary series, Laci's mother, Sharon Rocha, talks about her initial suspicions about Scott, saying she was worried he was too good to be true and would “feed Laci crap.”

“Talking to Sharon – and maybe it's because she's had 20 years to think about it – she was able to really recognize that she didn't always trust him 100 percent, that there was always this little gut feeling that was a little distrustful of Scott,” says Borgman. “And when she says, 'One thing I learned is to listen to my gut,' that's another thing we can all take away from this show and try to implement in our lives.”

“American Murder” gives Amber Frey a chance to clear her name. Although she was named as Scott's mistress in the headlines, Frey says she thought Scott was single when they started dating in November 2002. Before Laci's disappearance, Scott allegedly told Amber he had lost his wife and was preparing for the first Christmas without her.

When Frey realized that Scott was married and his wife was missing, she contacted Modesto police and helped authorities by recording her phone conversations with Scott.

“We don't really know how brave Amber was,” Borgman says. “Everyone thinks of her as 'the mistress,' and I really want people to look at Amber much more broadly as this very brave woman who came forward and — against a lot of adversity and in a very delicate situation — talked to Scott for weeks … and really provided some recorded, compelling evidence that helped the Modesto Police Department build their case against Scott Peterson.”

“American Murder” also includes interviews with Scott’s sister Susan Caudillo and his sister-in-law Janey Peterson, who went to law school to prove Scott’s innocence.

Borgman says her team has investigated Caudillo and Janey's theories.

“We looked at the police reports and were immediately ready to say, 'OK, there's something to this,'” says Borgman. “We couldn't find any other source that confirmed their statements.”

Judge allowed Duct tape to be retested in Scott Peterson case, rejects other requests: reports

The director hopes her documentary series will raise awareness about domestic violence and the fact that murder is the leading cause of death among pregnant women in America.

“We women are in danger in this world,” says Borgman. “And I want people to step back and think about it a little more.”

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