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DA Files Response Opposing a Motion By Scott Peterson’s Defense Team For DNA Testing

District attorney files response opposing a motion by Scott Peterson’s Defense team for DNA testing.

The district attorney in Stanislaus County, California, has filed new paperwork in court opposing a motion by Scott Peterson’s defense team, the Los Angeles Innocence Project, for DNA testing in the murders of Laci and Conner.

In a more than 300-page filing on Monday, the DA’s office addresses the 14 items for which the defense has requested DNA testing and explains why they have already been tested, litigated, are unrelated, or the burden to retest has not been met.

Scott Peterson, who was convicted of killing his wife and their unborn son 20 years ago, appeared in court virtually last month. The Los Angeles Innocence Project filed three motions in the murder case earlier this year, including one seeking evidence.

Laci Peterson, who was 27 years old and eight months pregnant, vanished on Christmas Eve, 2002. Her body was discovered in San Francisco Bay in April 2003.

Scott Peterson, 51, has been arrested and charged with first-degree murder in the death of his wife and second-degree murder in the death of their unborn son. He was convicted in 2004 and sentenced to death in 2005. He later received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.

According to court documents filed in January, attorneys for the Los Angeles Innocence Project claimed that Scott Peterson’s state and federal constitutional rights were violated, including a “claim of actual innocence that is supported by newly discovered evidence.”

The LA Innocence Project is also seeking DNA testing on over a dozen pieces of evidence, including those from the burglary and van fire. On May 29, a motion for a court order directing the testing of evidence for the presence of DNA will be discussed.

Scott Peterson is serving a life sentence at San Mateo County’s Mule Creek State Prison. Scott Peterson, who pleaded not guilty, has consistently maintained his innocence. His previous attempt at a new trial was denied in December 2022.

According to court documents, the California Supreme Court overturned Scott Peterson’s death sentence in 2020, citing improper jury screening for anti-death penalty bias during the penalty phase.

In December 2021, he was resentenced to life in prison with no chance of parole and transferred from San Quentin State Prison to Mule Creek State Prison in October 2022.

The Los Angeles Innocence Project, which provides pro bono legal services to people incarcerated in Central and Southern California who may have been wrongfully convicted, previously stated that it is representing Scott Peterson and “investigating his claim of actual innocence.”