The investigation of Laci Peterson began on Christmas Eve, 2002, Scott Peterson called police to report that his 27 year old wife, Laci Peterson, was missing from their one-story, ranch-style Modesto, California home (Noe, 2010). Laci was seven and a half months pregnant. Doctors had given her a due date of February 10, 2003. A sonogram had shown the fetus to be a boy; the parents planned to name him Conner. Little did everyone know eventually Scott Peterson would be behind the disappearance of his wife and unborn son, Conner (Noe, 2010). At first Scott seemed to play the role of the loving, caring, and devoted husband. This was the cause of Scott not being considered a suspect early on. Investigators focused on other leads, which gave Scott the ability to eventually try to disappear. Things started to unravel when police noticed Scott’s story was not adding up about his whereabouts the morning of the disappearance. Scott’s secrets did not last long. Soon the affair he was having with Amber Frey was well known and now caused him to be under closer suspicion in the disappearance of his wife (Noe, 2010).
Amber Frey contacted the police when she learned that Scott was married and admitted that he had lost his wife weeks prior to her disappearance. Amber agreed to let the police tap the phone lines in hopes of trying to have Scott to confess to the crime but Scott never stated anything on the recordings that could incriminate him (Noe, 2010). He either knew that he was trying to be incriminated or he actually believed in his sociopathic mind that he was not involved in the murders. In April of 2003, a fetus and a woman's torso washed up on shore from San Francisco Bay north of the Berkeley Mariana, where Peterson had been boating the day of Laci's disappearance. The torso was missing its hands, feet, and head but was still identified as Laci Peterson. An autopsy was performed but the exact cause of death was never determined. The Medical Examiner did make a note that Laci Peterson's ribs were broken prior to her death and not from being dragged across the rocks in the bay. The Prosecutors theorized that Laci Peterson was strangled or suffocated (Noe, 2010). Scott was arrested on April 18, 2003. At the time of his arrest, Scott was in a parking garage at Torrey Pines Golf Course, where he said he was meeting his family and friends for a round of golf. Peterson was in possession of the following items: his brother's driver license, four cell phones multiple credit cards belonging to various members of his family, approximately $15,000 in cash, camping equipment, dozen pair of shoes, several changes of clothing, double-edged dagger, Viagra, 24 blister packs of sleeping pills, shovel and rope, and MapQuest map to Amber Frey's workplace that was printed the previous day (Noe, 2010). Scott was believed to be about ready to try to become a fugitive. Luckily, the police found him in time before he was able to escape. In the beginning the police gave Scott the benefit of the doubt in the beginning of the investigation of his wife’s disappearance. This could have allowed Scott to escape with all items he was found in possession of when he was arrested. After Peterson was arrested the police had seized his computer and had found that Scott had searched for used boats, fishing information, currents in the San Francisco Bay, and boat ramps in the area weeks before Laci's disappearance (Noe, 2010). Search dogs were also brought in before Laci's body washed up on shore and the dogs picked up her scent at the Berkeley Marina where Peterson left for his fishing trip, the day of Laci's disappearance. The police searched Scott's warehouse, his tool box, his home, and his boat where they found a hair from Laci stuck in a pair of pliers; which was the only piece of forensic evidence found. These were the missing pieces of the puzzle that linked Scott Peterson directly to the murders of his wife and unborn son. During the trial, the prosecution had presented all the circumstantial evidence that linked him to the murder of his wife. The Prosecution stated that Scott Peterson's motive for murder was the affair with Amber Frey and money. Scott Peterson was sentenced to die via lethal injection for planning and carrying out the death of his wife and unborn son. He still to this day denies any part of the crime. His sociopathic personality allowed him to think he could get away with this heinous crime.

Reference
Noe, D. (2010, October 6). Scott Peterson: The Pregnant Wife Killer. In Crime Magazine. Retrieved January 14, 2012, from http://www.crimemagazine.com/scott-peterson-pregnant-wife- killer.