American Murder: Laci Peterson – Media Play News

Thomas K. Arnold

25 August 2024

STREAMING REVIEW:

Netflix;
Documentary;
No rating.
Starring Sharon Rocha, Allen Brocchini, Lori Hentz, Stacy Boyers, Renee Tomlinson, Jon Buehler, Gloria Gomez, Janey Peterson, Susan Peterson Caudillo, Sharon Hogan, Ted Rowlands, Heather Adams and Amber Frey.

The new Netflix documentary American Murder: Laci Peterson is pretty much the typical true crime show that has fascinated streamers in recent years.

And that's not a bad thing.

The documentary clocks in at just under three hours and was split into three parts so Netflix could show it as a “miniseries,” which is, of course, the latest buzzword in the streaming universe. It was released on Netflix on August 14, timed to coincide with the 20th anniversary of Scott Peterson's conviction for the murder of his wife, Laci, and their unborn child, Conner. The two badly decomposed bodies were found in San Francisco Bay near where Scott Peterson had been fishing on Christmas Eve 2002, the day Laci disappeared while walking the family dog ​​near the couple's home in Modesto, California. Shortly after the bodies were discovered, in April 2003, Scott Peterson was arrested and charged with the premeditated murder of Laci and the premeditated murder of his unborn son.

Scott Peterson categorically denies killing Laci. His fight to have the courts overturn his conviction intensified earlier this year when the LA Innocence Project, a nonprofit legal advocacy group, took on his case, claiming to have found new evidence to support that claim.

The documentary offers no new investigative bombshells, theories or witness testimony and seems to take Scott Peterson's conviction at face value, despite a disclaimer at the beginning of the series informing viewers that the convicted murderer claims it wasn't him. The very first scene after the introduction shows Laci Peterson's mother, Sharon Rocha, remembering the tragedy and how shocked she was when she received the call on Christmas Eve telling her Laci was missing.

“Nothing can change what really happened,” she said. “Nothing can change the truth.”

Part one of the miniseries tells what happened the day of Laci's disappearance, then delves into Laci and Scott's early years and the development of their relationship. The episode makes it clear that Laci's mother had reservations about Scott from the start. Friends of Laci said he was no help in the search for his wife, and police said they suspected him from the start.

Part two deals with the discovery that Scott Peterson was having an affair during Laci's pregnancy. His lover, Amber Frey, tells police that weeks before Laci's death, he told her he was a widower and this was his first Christmas without his wife. This is where Laci's family and the tone of the documentary really turn against Scott Peterson.

Part three traces the case from the discovery of Laci and Conner's bodies in San Francisco Bay in April 2003 and Scott Peterson's subsequent arrest to his trial and conviction. The documentary then examines various theories about how the murder occurred and what Scott Peterson did afterward to get rid of Laci's body and cover up his crime.

In summary, American Murder: Laci Peterson is like a true crime paperback about a notorious murder whose outcome everyone already knows. It's a good summer read, but not much more.

Peacock is also airing an anniversary documentary about the murder, which reportedly takes a more skeptical look at Scott Peterson's conviction.