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Nancy Grace Reveals Why Scott Peterson Shouldn't Get A New Trial For Killing Pregnant Wife

In 2017, A&E debuted the docuseries The Murder of Laci Peterson, then Discovery followed it up with a documentary titled Scott Peterson: An American Murder Mystery.

Both of these shows sparked a renewed interest in Scott Peterson, a California man accused of murdering his wife, Laci, in 2002.

For the first time more than ten years, Scott made a public statement regarding the case, insisting that he is innocent.

NBC News

During a phone call with his sister-in-law, Janey, he gave his first public statement in more than ten years.

"I wasn't the last one to see Laci that day. There were so many witnesses who saw her walking in the neighborhood after I left," he said, according to Today. "The police failed to find my family."

Scott said he "had no idea" the double murder conviction was coming, and was "staggered" when the verdict was delivered.

"I couldn't feel my feet on the floor, I couldn't feel the chair I was sitting in," he explained. "My vision was even a little blurry."

For those who aren't familiar with the highly-publicized case, here's what you need to know:

On Christmas Eve 2002, 27-year-old Laci was out to walk the dog around their Modesto neighborhood, and that was the last time she was ever seen.

Scott left a voicemail on her phone earlier that afternoon and it said: "Hi, beautiful. I just left you a message at home. 2:15. I'm leaving Berkeley. I won't be able to get to Vella Farms to get the basket for Poppa. I was hoping you would get this message and go on out there. I'll see you in a bit, sweetie. I love you. Bye."

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After a massive search was launched by the authorities, her body was found in the San Francisco Bay when it washed ashore a few months after she vanished.

Laci, who was pregnant at the time of her death, was not involved in anything illegal and she had no enemies, so her family, friends, and even the police were stumped when it came to figuring out a motive.

But after Scott started to display bizarre behavior, visible disinterest in the investigation, refused to take a polygraph test, and provided inconsistent alibis, investigators began to grow suspicious of him.

Police eventually found evidence that suggested Scott, who worked as a fertilizer salesman, was Laci's killer.

In Touch Weekly

Although the motive is still unclear, police has to reason to believe that Scott was motivated to kill his wife and unborn child after he became involved in an extramarital affair with a woman named Amber Frey.

Once their relationship came to light, Amber claimed that she had no idea Scott was married and that his wife had gone missing. She agreed to cooperate with the detectives and offered to share any information she had that could assist the investigation.

After admitting to infidelity, Scott sat down with ABC News' Diane Sawyer to clear up his name.

"Did you murder your wife?" Sawyer asked.

Scott replied:

"No, no, I did not," Peterson said. "And I had absolutely nothing to do with her disappearance. And use the word murder, and yeah, that is a possibility."

He smiled a bit before adding, "It's not one we're ready to accept, but it creeps in my mind late at night, and early in the morning. And during the day all we can think about is the right resolutions to find her...well."

Scott was arrested while on the run in 2003, charged with first-degree murder of Laci, and second-degree murder of baby Connor. He was sentenced to death by lethal injection in 2005.

InTouch Weekly

At first, Laci's family, especially her mother Sharon Rocha, couldn't believe that Scott was capable of such a heinous crime.

"Because in the back of my mind, I kept thinking, "˜What if he didn't have anything to do with this? Laci comes home, how is she going to feel about me if I'm suspecting that her husband had something to do with the disappearance and he didn't?'" said Sharon.

She continued, "That's the last person you want to think had anything to do with the disappearance of your daughter "” her husband. The person that was a member of your family, somebody that you loved and cared about, and thought he felt the same way about your daughter. And knowing how she felt about him."

As time went on, Sharon was finally able to accept that Scott is guilty.

"He denied it. He denied everything," Laci's mother Sharon Rocha said. "He told me he would never hurt Laci. And I specifically remember that, "˜I would never hurt her.' I said, "˜Well you may not have hurt her, but you killed her.'"

"You wake up from most nightmares, and they're over. Mine was different," Sharon explained. "I was awake when it started, and I've barely slept since. It was Dec. 24, 2002 -- a date when life as I'd always known it stopped forever."

Laci and her mom SharonABC News

Scott has been on death row at San Quentin State Prison for the last 13 years. Since his incarceration, he has had two appeals and a request for a new trial denied.

He has decided to appeal his sentence one more time, but there are many who think he shouldn't be granted a new trial because it could give him a chance at freedom.

Legal commentator and journalist Nancy Grace is one of them.

Nancy is convinced that Scott is a lost cause and cannot be be a reformed criminal. She's convinced Scott's life behind bars isn't hard, and he probably isn't worried about the outcome of his appeal.

The Insider

But there's one thing that Nancy fears, and she told TMZ that it is the possibility of the judge catering to popular opinion and giving Scott a new trial.

Like everyone else in America, Nancy has shown big interest in Scott's case, and will be dissecting it this week on her A&E show with Dan Abrams Grace vs. Abrams.

The episode will feature several special guests including Janey Peterson; Scott's former defense lawyer, Mark Geragos; a juror from Peterson's trial, Greg Beratlis; and Detective Al Brocchini from the Modesto Police Department.

While speaking to the celebrity news site, Nancy was asked if she would ever be a defense attorney for Scott, and she replied saying that there's not enough money in the world that would make her consider it, adding that she'd rather "sweep the streets."

Crime Online

Laci's mother has also been actively seeking justice for her daughter while advocating for victims' rights. She even wrote a book on her experience titled For Laci: A Mother's Story of Love, Loss and Justice.

"I believe that Laci wasn't going to allow Scott to get away with murder, so she kept the spotlight shining down on him until he was convicted," Sharon explained.

Right now, it's unclear what the outcome will be, so we'll have to just wait and see.

For more on this case, check out:

15 Years After He Murdered His Pregnant Wife, Scott Peterson Tells All

15 Years After Her Daughter Was Murdered By Her Husband, Laci Peterson's Mother Opens Up About Her Loss

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