Scott Peterson's Defense Limited To 1 Item For DNA Retesting

SAN MATEO, CA — A California judge has ruled just one item of evidence can be retested for DNA in Scott Peterson's effort to clear himself in the killing of his pregnant wife Laci and their unborn son in 2002, according to the Los Angeles Times. Peterson was found guilty on two counts of murder in 2002, and his defense team had asked the court to allow for the retesting of multiple items with modern DNA technology.

According to the Times, the Los Angeles Innocence Project had argued for more than a dozen pieces of evidence to be retested that could link someone else to the killings, including a mattress found inside a burned van near the crime scene. Instead, NBC News reports, the San Mateo County judge allowed retesting on a single piece of duct tape found on Laci Peterson's pants when her body was recovered from the San Francisco Bay in April 2003.

NBC News reported the judge agreed with prosecutors that the van was unrelated to the case and ruled the defense did not prove other items found near Peterson's body were relevant to the case.

Scott Peterson was arrested and charged with first and second-degree murder and convicted in 2004. He was sentenced to death the following year and later resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Peterson's attorneys sought a new trial in 2022, which was denied.

According to ABC News, his new defense team argued forensic evidence did not prove Peterson killed his wife and unborn child and based solely on circumstantial evidence. A hearing is scheduled in July to determine the next steps.

Read more at the Los Angeles Times here.