- Scott Peterson was convicted of the 2002 murders of Laci, 27, and unborn child Conner
- He previously requested a new trial, claiming his first hearing was biased by “misconduct” by juror Richelle Nice
- His case is being investigated by the Innocence Project, which is looking for new evidence from his trial
Woman killer Scott Peterson has had his case taken up by the LA Innocence Project amid claims he received an unfair trial.
The 51-year-old is currently serving life without parole for the 2002 murders of his wife Laci and their unborn son Conner.
Peterson pleaded not guilty to the crimes and has maintained his innocence. His legal team claims he did not receive a fair trial due to possible jury misconduct.
The case will now be handled by the nonprofit Justice Department, which is seeking new evidence from his trial, according to court documents obtained by ABC News.
Laci was 27 years old and eight months pregnant when she disappeared on Christmas Eve.
The LA Innocence Project has reportedly taken on the case of Scott Petersen, who was convicted of murdering his wife Laci and their unborn son Conner in 2005, amid claims that he received an unfair trial for “misconduct of the juror’.
Peterson, 51, was initially sentenced to death before a judge overturned the decision in 2020 and sentenced him to life in prison without parole
Peterson’s lawyers argue that his murder conviction should be overturned entirely because juror Richelle Nice (pictured), called ‘Strawberry Shortcake’, was biased
Peterson led the search for his wife, but was arrested months later when her body washed up on the San Francisco shoreline in 2003.
The killer claimed that the murder must have happened when his wife interrupted a burglary. However, this was rejected by the court and he was initially given the death penalty.
The sentence was overturned by the California Supreme Court in August 2020 after it found that jurors had been improperly screened for bias.
Peterson’s attorneys previously pushed unsuccessfully for a new trial, claiming that Peterson’s conviction was tainted by the involvement of a juror obsessed with him.
Richelle Nice later admitted to sending the killer seventeen letters, including one sent from the psychiatric ward that was allegedly left out crucial details about her past as a survivor of domestic violence during the jury selection process.
Nice, nicknamed “strawberry shortcake” because of her dyed red hair, revealed in court that she wrote more than a dozen letters to Peterson after helping convict him while he was on death row.
But judge Anne-Christine Massullo ruled that Nice, who was juror number seven, did not act out of misconduct but out of emotion caused by the proceedings.
According to Fox, Peterson filed a new appeal last April. The habeas corpus petition purports to claim that his family has found new evidence proving his innocence, but the document has not been made public.
Jurors were told that Peterson had a mistress, Amber Frey (pictured with Peterson) and that he feared becoming a father
Peterson’s mistress, Amber Frey, did not know he was married when the two started dating
During the trial, it emerged that Peterson had a masseuse mistress named Amber Frey, who had no idea he was married.
Prosecutors told the court that Peterson wanted to escape married life and did not want the responsibility of becoming a father.
He claimed he killed her in their Modesto home before dumping her body — and that of the baby she was carrying — from his boat.
He was found guilty of the first-degree murder of his wife and the first-degree murder of their unborn child.
Some of Peterson’s relatives have echoed his claims of innocence. However, his own sister labeled him a ‘sociopath’.
“I don’t know why he did this,” she said in an interview with Dr. Oz. “Laci was the sweetest, kindest person, so I just don’t understand.”
“We miss her all the time. We are deprived of her presence.
“His upbringing…I don’t know if it has anything to do with it. “I’m not a doctor, but I believe in sociopathy and I believe he’s a sociopath.”
DailyMail.com has contacted the Innocence Project for comment.
