but never away ♪ ♪ so what do you say what do you say ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [ cheers and applause ] ♪ this is "nightline." >> juju: tonight, scott peterson, the convicted murderer's latest fight for a new trial. >> this case cries out for further investigation. >> juju: his lawyers calling for new dna testing from a scrap of

duct tape to a bloody mattress inside a burnt-out van recovered the day after a pregnant laci peterson vanished. >> that van had actually been seen where one of the witnesses saw laci. >> juju: why the prosecution says he's already had his day in court. what did the judge decide? plus, diane sawyer's interview with the sisters of nicole brown. remembering the stunning verdict of the trial of the century. >> i was in such shock. i couldn't scream. i felt numb. >> juju: 30 years after her murder, what nicole and o.j. simpson's children, now grown, are doing today. >> to sdo sydney and justin ask about her? >> juju: >> juju: beautiful, brilliant, bursting with life. our first look at the trailer for "moana 2." pain means pause on the things you love, but... green... means... go! ♪ cool the pain with biofreeze. and keep on going.

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♪ >> juju: thanks for joining us. tonight, a glimmer of hope inside the california courtroom at the center of scott peterson's fight to clear his name in the murder of his pregnant wife, laci peterson. a judge today issuing a ruling on dna testing. what it could mean for the case. another long shot in the 20-year-old case of convicted murderer scott peterson, facing a judge today in his latest attempt to get a new trial. >> this case cries out for

further investigation, for then forensic investigation, including dna testing, of physical evidence that may be exculpatory evidence or lead to possible other suspects. >> juju: the 51-year-old zooming in, head shaved, listening as his legal team argued that 14 pieces of evidence from his case should be submitted for dna testing. >> we looked at the original investigation to see if anything was missed or overlooked or missing. >> juju: the prosecutors arguing the conviction should stand. >> you haven't shown evidence, to come forward with actual evidence, actual fact, not speculations. >> the investigators from the peterson case would tell you, sure, let them retest it, fine with us. the problem is, it sets a potentially dangerous standard where any defendant, despite all their appeals being rejected, can make an argument that, well, maybe there's something

additional that should be tested. >> juju: today peterson getting a small win. the judge ruling against new testing for 13 of the 14 items the defense requested, but allowing one piece of evidence to be tested. peterson was convicted of the gruesome murder of his pregnant wife, laci, and unborn son, connor in a case that riveted the nation. >> we, the jury, find the defendant, scott lee peterson, guilty -- >> juju: he's always denied his guilt and secured a powerful new advocate, the los angeles innocence project. they argue peterson is innocent and authorities zeroed in on the wrong man from the start. >> the l.a. innocence project is arguing that this testing could show that he's actually innocent. that someone else did it and that scott peterson was falsely accused. an enormous uphill battle. >> juju: the l.a. innocence project claims a burglary across the street from the peterson home happened on the same day laci went missing and was not fully investigated, and this

burnt-out van could hold a crucial clue. >> their allegation here is that some witnesses believed that laci peterson interrupted that burglary, and then she was killed because of it by those who were involved in it. >> juju: in january, they submitted a 1,500-page motion detailing explosive claims, witness statements, an alleged confession from an eliminated suspect, and evidence that was not tested for dna. >> it's very concerning that they areree resisting dna testing. >> juju: including bloody mattress samples from the burnt-out van found blocks from the peterson home, a black tarp, and several items in a plastic target bag found near the bodies of laci and unborn son conner, a hammer and work glove found across the street, and duct tape found on laci's pants with human dna present. the state of california arguing in part that peterson is on another baseless fishing expedition.

the l.a. innocence project's claim, that a piece of fabric found in a burnt-out van a mile away from the peterson home might be connected to laci's murder. >> that van had actually been seen where one of the witnesses saw laci. so there was a connection between the van and a possible laci sighting. >> so somebody's blood is on a mattress in the back of a van that was burnt deliberately. who? >> juju: former modesto fire investigator brine sapolski responded to that van christmas moorning. >> there was a stain that presented as a rust-colored stain. >> juju: he says he and the modesto police department tested the mattress, and it came up positive for human blood. >> i don't know that i was tying the moment to laci. i was more tying the moment that it was human blood. it made it like this was much more important than just a burned vehicle that somebody was just wanting to get rid of or cover up. >> juju: today, the judge ruled that the fabric from the van will not undergo additional

testing. advances in dna testing have been successful in overturning verdicts in the past. >> as technology has improved and techniques and experience has improved, we're able to see more and more dna, we're able to see dna profiles we couldn't detect before. >> reporter: professor ashley hall is director of the forensic science graduate program at uc davis. >> as we moved into the mid-2000s, kits were developed that could quantify male dna by the "y" chromosome. 2010s, kits were developed that could quantify male and female dna in the same interaction. >> juju: she says although the evidence was collected and tested in 2003, it was retested in 2019, and at that time improved dna technology showed no female dna was detected. >> the kits that were used in 2019 are the same kits that are used today. so i would expect the result that we get in 2019 to be the same result we would get today, which would be no female dna present, no laci present.

>> the problem that the innocence project has is they don't have any evidence of actual innocence. they have theories. they have hopes. they have tests they want to do. but that's very different from actually coming to court and presenting evidence that fundamentally changes the perception of the case as a whole. >> juju: this is the third time that peterson has been in court this year. in march, the innocence project made their first arguments on their new motion, claiming there were witnesses who say they saw laci on the day she went miss hog were not properly interviewed. >> there are a number of other witnesses we have been investigating -- >> juju: laci peterson was 27, and 8 1/2 months pregnant, when she went missing christmas eve 2002. >> hi, can i help you? >> yes, my daughter went

missing, she's 8 months pregnant, went for a walk in the park -- >> juju: scott told friends he was going golfing gut later told authorities it was too cold so he went fishing instead, heading out to san francisco bay, over 80 miles away from home. >> laci denise peterson, 8 months pregnant, considered a high-risk missing person under suspicious circumstances -- >> juju: when a mistress surfaced, investigators zeroed in on peterson as their lead suspect. >> scott told me he was not married. we did have a romantic relationship. >> juju: in april 2003, the bodies of laci and their son, connor, were found washed ashore not far from where peterson said he'd been fishing on christmas eve. >> there is no question in our minds that the unidentified female is laci peterson. the unidentified fetus is the

biological child of laci and scott peterson. >> laci peterson's husband now in custody -- >> scott peterson has been arrested -- >> juju: at the time of his arrest, peterson had dyed his naturally dark hair blond and had thousands of dollars in cash, several phones, camping equipment, and changes of clothes. details that convinced those obsessed with the case that he had something to hide. mark geragos defended him at trial. >> he had dyed his hair because he was still trying to work as a salesperson. the media was hunting him, and he thought that would be one way not to draw attention to himself. the cash was because he didn't want people tracking where he was spending his money. >> juju: peterson was charged with two counts of murder, and his five-month-long trial became a media circus. >> we're breaking into programming to bring you the verdict in the scott peterson murder trial. a jury has just convicted him of murder. >> juju: it took the jury nine days to find peterson guilty of

first-degree murder for laci and second-degree murder for connor. >> we, the jury in the above-titled cause, find the defendant, scott lee peterson, guilty of the crime of murder of laci denise peterson. >> juju: in the decades that scott peterson has been in prison, laci's disappearance and death have continued to fascinate the country. inspiring dozens of documentaries, books, podcasts. like "crime weekly." >> he does have a good shot of proving he didn't get a fair trial. >> juju: tv movies like "the perfect husband." >> you become a suspect, that's what they do. >> juju: through it all, peterson and his legal team continued to do all they could to secure a new trial. >> it is very, very rare that someone whose case has worked through the appeals would get to reopen the case 20 years later to make arguments that they wish they'd made at trial. >> juju: but despite all the possible evidence the l.a. innocence project put forth, the only piece that will be tested

is a 15 1/2-inch strip of duct stipulate found on laci peterson's body. >> this is kind of the end of the road for scott peterson. >> juju: when we come back, diane sawyer's interview with nicole brown's family. what they say their sister would be doing if she were alive. i have moderate to severe crohn's disease. now, there's skyrizi. ♪ things are looking up, i've got symptom relief. ♪ ♪ control of my crohn's means everything to me. ♪ ♪ control is everything to me. ♪ feel significant symptom relief at 4 weeks with skyrizi, including less abdominal pain and fewer bowel movements. skyrizi is the first il-23 inhibitor that can deliver remission and visibly improve damage of the intestinal lining. and the majority of people experienced long-lasting remission at one year. serious allergic reactions and an increased risk of infections or a lower ability to fight them may occur.

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♪ >> juju: welcome back. diane sawyer sat down with nicole brown's sisters 30 years after her first interview with

them just after nicole was killed. their memory of their beloved sibling, of nicole's shocking murder, of the infamous trial of o.j. simpson, is still vivid. their relationship with nicole's now-grown children, enduring. hir here's abc's diane sawyer. >> reporter: 30 years ago, the so-called trial of the century ended in that stunning acquittal. >> we, the jury in the above-titled action, find the defendant,er on 10 that will james simpson, not guilty of the crime of murder -- >> reporter: all of us began debating the role of race, distrust of police, questions about competence, and the national spectacle the trial became. >> if it doesn't fit, you must acquit. >> reporter: in that courtroom, two families -- the goldmans and the browns -- today, nicole brown simpson's sisters say they feel the jurors didn't fully understand the harrowing progression of domestic abuse and violence, and shockingly, those secret journals nicole kept detailing simpson's violence against her were ruled

hearsay, not allowed is evidence. in another missing piece, the prosecutors had a potential speaking gun, a bruno magly shoe print left in the blood at the crime scene. but they couldn't prove simpson had ever worn those shoes, and he denied it. >> i would have never worn those ugly-ass shoes. >> reporter: the criminal trial was already over when someone found proof that simpson was lying about the shoes. a photo. he's wearing them. this is the moment he sees that photo for the first time. >> and that is a picture of you looking at exhibit 1, correct? >> appears to be me, yes. >> reporter: at the moment of the verdict, the brown sisters are sitting behind ron goldman's father and his sister, kim. and these are those sisters today. denise, dominique, tonya brown. we looked at your faces when the verdict arrived. >> i was in shock. i thought it was going to be a hung jury. >> we were told by judge ito, "nobody make a noise, no sounds,

we want nothing, we want silence." then i heard kim scream and i just thought, oh my god. but i was in such shock, i couldn't scream. i felt numb. >> reporter: afterwards, the family returned home where nicole's children were waiting. the sisters received a firm instruction from their mother. "do not let those little children see grief on your face." >> she says, "put a smile on your face when we walk in the door." >> yeah. >> you know, i mean, it was always protecting them. always being there for them. and whatever was best for them is what she would always say. "girls, this is what we have to do." >> reporter: today, sydney and justin are in their 30s, parents themselves. how are they? >> they're good. >> they're young adults now. they're not the little children. >> they both a have their own families. >> they're beautiful. >> reporter: to do sydney and

justin ask about her still? >> no. but we talk about her. >> justin says, "what was mom's favorite color?" we had a whole list of things he asked at one point a couple of years ago. >> reporter: they don't ask about their father? >> no. >> i don't know what kind of a relationship they had with him. i'm there to love on them, and i'm there to love on their children. >> murderer! >> reporter: a civil trial would find simpson liable for murders in a wrongful death claim. his punishment, to pay millions and millions of dollars to nicole's estate and ron goldman's family. but the goldmans received only a tiny fraction of what they were owed, and it's not public what he gave his children through nicole's estate. today, where is it all? the civil case verdict, awarding the money to the goldman family and to you? >> no, not to us, we didn't get

a penny. just to make it clear. >> yeah, yeah. >> but yeah, it was the estate of nicole brown simpson for sydney and justin. >> it's always been about the kids, you know? so it will continue to be about the kids. >> reporter: we don't know if simpson had any remaining assets when he died. but we do know the brown family had to watch him return to the spotlight. reveling in the attention and music videos. ♪ on the golf course, celebrating himself. >> they call me juice! the juice! >> reporter: if nicole brown simpson's life had not been savagely taken, she would have just turned 65. >> oh my god, oh my god what would she look like? >> beautiful. >> i know, i know. >> she'd be fit. she'd still be running. >> yeah, she'd be running. i see her down at the beach. >> i do, too. >> yeah, playing with the kids. not the kids --

>> the grandkids. >> i love the videos. because for me, the videos -- i mean, as hard as it is to hear her speak and to see her moving, and she's alive -- i'm like, oh my god, that's killing me. but i love seeing it. because she was just so graceful and elegant and just so sweet. and the love that she had for sydney and kissing them and justin -- >> but there is one in the video that i like. it's her with short hair, walking out into the ocean, saying "bye, sydney, i'll be back, i'll be back." >> "i'll see you soon." >> bye-bye, sydney, we'll see you again real soon. >> juju: our thanks to diane. "the life and murder of nicole brown simpson" airs on june 1st and 2nd on lifetime. if you or someone you know is a

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♪ >> juju: finally tonight, our first look at "moana 2." it's been nearly eight years since the world has laid eyes on "moana." ♪ maui and the rest of the inhabitants of mythical, magical montenui. amazing news, "moana 2" will hit theaters in time for thanksgiving and promises all the adventure, music, and amazing land and sea creatures of the original. >> sail to new skies, reconnect our people across the entire ocean.