anything impacting a functioning government, we should have this thing signed. crisis averted. at least for now. at least until march. so let's take a deep breath for a lot of reasons, together. what a week. and on that note, i wish you a very, very good night. from all of our colleagues across the networks of nbc news, thank you for staying up late with me. i will see you at the end of monday. you at the end of monday. shaaron anderson: i miss her smile and her laughter. i miss everything about her. it's more difficult to speak in public about it now. keith morrison: the news swept the nation when she vanished. laci peterson, the beaming young mom to be. please, please, let her come home to us. keith morrison: prosecutors speak out

in an in-depth television interview. you put so much of your life into it. it stays with you. keith morrison: laci's husband. finally hear the story he told. his rarely seen police interrogation. we couldn't find anything wrong with this guy. he was that charming. keith morrison: and surprising details from the other woman who helped uncover the truth. it's still affects me emotionally. keith morrison: did scott peterson kill his wife? i do not believe he did. i mean, really? who else could have done it? i'm glad you asked that question. keith morrison: once upon a time, in a small california city lived a sweet pregnant woman with a radiant smile. and outside of friends and family hardly anyone knew her name.

she would never know, of course, how famous that name of hers was about to become. we have no indication, no significant leads at this point. keith morrison: would never know that a curious sympathetic puzzled nation had cast an eye her way, laci peterson. she was 27 years old. and on the night before christmas, she was gone. laci, if you're out there and can hear us and see us, we love you. and we're searching. we're looking. keith morrison: it hit something, something in the air, the zeitgeist, that name, that smile, that mystery, impossible to put down. whoever has her, please, please, please let her go. bring her back to us. dennis robert rocha: we love her so much. and we want her back.

please, let us have her back. keith morrison: and then there was him, the husband, the inscrutable scott peterson. i really don't care what people think of me as long as it continues to keep laci's picture, description, tip line in the media. keith morrison: before our very eyes, he would morph from a faithful husband who loved his wife to an object of suspicion, an outrage. such a circus the whole sad thing sometimes seemed to be. scott, hey, why don't you come and talk to us and tell us the truth? keith morrison: but for all the noise, all the breathless coverage, the hours of tv, the acres of tabloid, there was a story never completely told until the prosecutors sat down with "dateline." what do you think of scott peterson, his personality? he's a very unusual person. he's clearly very-- i think he's very smart. i think he thinks he's very smart.

keith morrison: the story the detectives saw firsthand. when somebody is in a position like him and they didn't do it, usually they'll say take blood, take a polygraph, i don't care. but scott wouldn't do that. he'd only go to a point. he was just as cool as a moose. he was steve mcqueen cool. keith morrison: the story of what happened to her too, the other woman whose name was also thrust into a cultural moment, amber frey. what does a saga like that due to a person's life? well, i would say-- i mean, from day one it completely changed my life. keith morrison: and the story told by a frustrated ex-journalist convinced that the cops, the prosecutors, the public got it all wrong. did scott peterson kill his wife? i don't believe that. i do not believe he did. keith morrison: and a video we found buried in the court archives.

scott peterson talking to a detective just hours after sounding the alarm laci was missing. but before we get there, we'll begin here with laci peterson's mother, sharon rocha surrounded, fortified really by laci's best friends, stacy boyers, lori ellsworth, and renee tomlinson. they seem to make you feel cheerful. they do. they help a lot. i'm glad they're here. but it's tough still. it is tough. keith morrison: perhaps harder than ever to talk about it, she said, to talk about her long dead daughter, whose case so captivated the country. there are people growing up who probably either don't remember or never knew about laci peterson. tell me about, laci. i moved to modesto in the third grade. and i knew nobody. and she was one of the first people i met. and there was no not meeting her.

keith morrison: you get the idea, big personality. it just makes you want to whistle. stacy boyers: she made everybody laugh and welcome, just with a smile. she could smile, and you would know that is the girl that you're going to be probably spending the rest of the night talking to or-- listening to. --laughing at or listening to, maybe not talking so much. but she was hard to get a word in edgewise. keith morrison: talkative, smart, tenacious. you have us? shaaron anderson: i have you. - is it working? - yeah. ok. keith morrison: the person who went for what she wanted, the way she did for scott peterson. how did laci meet scott? at a cafe where scott worked. keith morrison: or at least saw him there and just like that, gave a waiter her phone number to pass on to scott. she wasn't bashful. keith morrison: and laci's mother liked scott, liked him a lot. very charming, very polite, perfect gentleman.

bringing roses, that sort of thing. yes, he'd had a dozen roses for laci and then a dozen roses for me. so, of course, i was impressed. keith morrison: the courtship was like that, old fashioned, in what seemed a good way. he actually asked our permission to marry laci. and we gave him our permission. keith morrison: there was a big wedding in the summer of '97. and by the turn of the millennium, scott was a fertilizer salesman in modesto, laci a substitute teacher. his job took him on the road a lot. but they were happy. did the three of you get to know the two of them together much before? stacy boyers: mhm. renee tomlinson: mhm. i thought he was a great guy. renee tomlinson: we thought they were great. she was always happy. it was almost a joke of, gosh, does he have a brother. keith morrison: though laci struggled to get pregnant after nearly five years of marriage, that came too. the day after my baby shower that she threw for me, she took a pregnancy test and called everybody.

very early, very early the next morning. keith morrison: soon enough, the petersons learned they were having a boy. they ready the nursery and decided to name him conner. laci was nearly eight months pregnant by christmas, the last christmas before little conner was due. you were supposed to have a christmas eve dinner, is that right? yes, i was. she was having christmas day. and i was having christmas eve dinner. and that was when he called. it was close to 6:15. he called and asked if laci was with me. and i said, no, she's not here. well, she's missing. keith morrison: and that was the beginning, christmas eve 2002, laci peterson with her bright smile was nowhere to be found. coming up, the missing mom becomes national news. there's a $500,000 reward. i thought somebody kidnapped her. i was absolutely panicked. keith morrison: the first clues, her dog dragging its leash, her neighbors robbed,

her husband asking for help. did he seem frantic or worried? a little bit. keith morrison: when "dateline" continues. head & shoulders is launching something huge. ♪♪ the bare minimum. anti-dandruff shampoo made with only nine ingredients. no sulfates, silicones or dyes. and packaged with 45% less plastic. giving you outstanding dandruff protection. and leaving hair beautiful and moisturized. major dandruff protection, minimal ingredients. job done. head & shoulders bare.

keith morrison : what was it about this woman, job done. this man, this case, that so quickly gripped the nation? was it her smile? was it because it happened christmas eve? a subject for some phd thesis now. but at the beginning, it was like a thousand other such cases, a stomach-flipping phone call: "shes missing." keith morrison : ive had a child for missing in-- for ten minutes. and the-- the sense of, oh, my god, something may have happened here is so powerful, it just takes over everything, right? sharon rocha: it does. it does. it absolutely does. keith morrison : laci petersons mother sharon, remembers telling her son-in-law scott, check with the neighbors, call lacis friends.

keith morrison : and he did? you all-- rene tomlinson: yeah. lori ellsworth: mm-hm. rene tomlinson: we all got a call. stacey boyers: yeah. he asked me if id seen her that day. have you seen laci at all today? lori ellsworth: and then he called back. stacey boyers: i said, no, i havent. and hes like, well, shes-- shes missing. and-- keith morrison: did he seem frantic, or worried, or what? lori ellsworth: a little bit. keith morrison : worried enough to ask for their help. keith morrison : so, did you all go over to his-- lori ellsworth: yeah. sharon rocha: yeah. keith morrison: --to their place? keith morrison: sharon rochas long-time boyfriend ron grantski called the cops. operator (911 recording): can i help you? ron grantski (911 recording): my son-in-law called he was playing golf. my daughters been missing since this morning. shes eight months pregnant. keith morrison : golfing on a cold christmas eve? odd, but-- okay. meanwhile, sharon followed up on something scott told her, that he came home to find the dog out in the yard wearing a leash. sharon rocha: i went directly to the park. keith morrison: because of that leash on the dog and-- sharon rocha: yes. we had walked together in the park before. i was absolutely panicked. i was running around. i was looking in trash cans. i was screaming her name. keith morrison : no sign of her anywhere. lacis friends spent the early hours of christmas morning making missing posters.

rene tomlinson: the next morning, i walked in. was it christmas day? we had fliers and tape and everything. rene tomlinson: were going to start passing these out to the family and volunteers. its awesome. just one that-- another way to get her the cheer out there. stacey boyers: we hit the ground running. we just-- lori ellsworth: go, go, go. sharon rocha: yeah. stacey boyers: --get up the next day and-- i mean-- sharon rocha: i know i didnt sleep for days. female voice: yeah, didn't put makeup on. that was the last thing from my mind. female voice: i mean, we pretty much cancelled christmas- female voice: yeah. didn't have christmas with our fam-- didn't have christmas dinner- female voice: my daughter's first christmas. i was not with her. unidentified man: this is to oakdale. unidentified woman: yeah, thats where im going to be. keith morrison : pretty soon the whole town of modesto seemed to be looking for laci peterson. unidentified woman: please have prayers. anyone out there help bring her home. bring her home alive. keith morrison : of course the police were searching, too. full- out. keith morrison : how long did the search go on in here anyway? al brocchini: well, all night and then all the next day. keith morrison : al brocchini, the first detective on the case watched as searchers scoured the area.

keith morrison : they were everywhere, right? they were just-- al brocchini: oh, yeah. they did a grid search, meaning they wouldve-- they wouldve been in eye contact and walked this whole area. keith morrison : brocchini and jon buehler, his partner at the time, had a feeling from the start, laci peterson missing wasnt going to end well. jon buehler: because she didnt lead an at-risk lifestyle. keith morrison: yeah. jon buehler: she didnt hang around at the bars. and she wasnt out two- timing him or doing anything like that. i mean, she was a girl that was just ecstatic, from everything that i learned about her, of being a mother. keith morrison : so she wasnt someone who would just walk away. and yet, in the anxiety, hope. an idea formed in the minds of those who loved laci, that somehow this might turn out all right. sharon rocha: we know were going to find laci. we know were going to bring her home alive and safe. rene tomlinson: we were going to find her. like, i thought somebody kidnapped her. i-- thats what i thought, just for the baby or something. keith morrison : heres lori, rene and stacey along with another friend in january of 2003. rene tomlinson: you know, theres a five-hundred-thousand-dollar reward for her and, you know, the babys safe return.

just take that, you know? take the money and give us laci back. keith morrison : so, in those first days an exhausted sharon rocha, her ex-husband, lacis father dennis beside her, went on tv and pleaded with a kidnapper. sharon rocha: wed just like to send a message out there that whoever has her, please, please, please let her go. bring her back to us. dennis rocha: we love her so much. keith morrison : early on, there were clues the cops uncovered that made kidnapping seem plausible. remember the couples dog with the leash attached? scott found it in the backyard? a neighbor said she saw the petersons dog wandering the street earlier that day. so, maybe laci was kidnapped while walking the dog. and just about the time laci disappeared, there was a burglary right across the street. so, did she witness a crime? did burglars take her? the police wanted to know. unidentified man: a reward for information

for the identity of the-- the persons responsible for the burglary. keith morrison : then, two men were caught, didnt take long. and soon enough one of them showed up in a tv interview. unidentified man: i went and picked up the safe and took it to my house and thats all that i had to do with it. i didnt have nothing to do with a-- that ladys disappearance. keith morrison : and police agreed. no connection to laci. so they kept digging. jon buehler: we were also looking at and researching up all the sex registrants and the parolees, people with histories of violent crime, abductions, kidnappings, sexual assaults and things that-- keith morrison: a lot of them hung out at the park, in that area. jon buehler: we had some. we were clearing those guys. we were interviewing them and we were verifying their alibis. keith morrison : what the police were not saying was that homicide detectives had other suspicions. of course they talked to lacis husband, scott. jon buehler: were certainly going to look at scott first. hes the closest to laci. keith morrison: sure. jon buehler: and thats where you start when youre working a case like this. keith morrison: of course.

keith morrison : that was behind the scenes. in front of the camera, the official police statements were more circumspect. police officer: lets focus on the fact that we would still like to find laci alive. but we have to understand what the other possibilities are. the other possibilities are, that she could be, you know, a victim of foul play. keith morrison : those closest to laci, who at first were having trouble grappling with the whole idea of foul play, certainly couldnt fathom that scott had anything to do with lacis disappearance. back then, early 2003, even sharon rocha told us, impossible. sharon rocha: people who know scott and laci have no doubt whatsoever that he has nothing to do with her disappearance. keith morrison : its a powerful thing, true belief. but when it comes crashing down-- my, my, my. keith morrison : coming up brocchini (interrogation video): just tell me about the morning. keith morrison: scott peterson, down at the station.

a rare look at his interrogation. keith morrison: was he okay with talking to you? was there any hesitation? al brocchini: no. he agreed. he was okay with it. keith morrison: didnt ask for an attorney or anything like that? al brocchini: no, didnt-- didnt ask for an attorney. al brocchini (interrogation video): when did you realize you were going to go fishing? scott peterson (interrogation video): well, like, thats-- was the morning decision. keith morrison : was there something fishy about his story? al brocchini: he didnt even know what he was fishing for. he didnt know what bait he was using. keith morrison : when dateline continues mega-heist! -yeah! -i can't go back to jail! wait, did you rob my bank? sharing is caring, bro! let's make like dice and roll. ♪♪ [♪♪] did you know, letserums are concentratedoll. with powerful ingredients to visibly improve your skin? try olay super serum. for five powerful ingredients in one, it hydrates, improves texture and evenness, while also firming and smoothing. try olay super serum.

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keith morrison : didnt take long for the laci peterson story support up to seven brain health indicators, including memory. to go wide, that face with smiling out of magazines and television screens nationwide. dennis rocha: the more leads we get, the more-- shes out there somewhere. keith morrison : friends and family desperate to get the story out talked to anyone, everyone. but they noticed one person seemed to stay in the background.

scott. grieving in private, his parents told us back in 2003. lee peterson: hes brave but hes just devastated. jacki peterson: he just would not be a good spokesperson. keith morrison : but there was one camera scott couldnt shy away from -- at the police station. here is scott with detective brocchini just hours after he reported laci missing. in this rarely seen video, you can watch scott. hear his words. does he seem like a worried, frantic husband? youll see. al brocchini (interrogation video): just tell me about the morning. scott peterson (interrogation video): okay. i dont know what time we got up. probably laci got up and went-- and i assume-- had-- she had some cereal for breakfast. keith morrison: was he okay with talking to you? was there any hesitation? al brocchini: no. he agreed. he was okay with it. keith morrison: didnt ask for an attorney or anything like that? al brocchini: no, didnt-- didnt ask for an attorney. i didn't read him his rights. i wasn't plannin' on arrestin' him,

so i don't have to do that. i knew whatever he told me, i'm takin' him home. and i told him that. door's unlocked. i'll drive you home. don't have to talk to me if you don't want to scott peterson (interrogation video): and then she was going to the store to buy for christmas morning breakfast tomorrow. and that was going to be an involved prep. so that was her afternoon-- was prepping the breakfast. and she was going to make gingerbread cookies for tonight. keith morrison : as brocchini sat there he was struck by how impassive scott was, even as he revealed he didnt go golfing. al brocchini (interrogation video): when did you realize you were going to go fishing? scott peterson (interrogation video): well, like, thats-- was the morning decision. its either-- al brocchini (interrogation video): that was a morning decision? scott peterson (interrogation video): go play golf at the club, or-- or go fishing. al brocchini (interrogation video): okay. scott peterson (interrogation video): it seemed too cold to go play golf at the club. keith morrison : he said he drove to his warehouse office a few miles away. al brocchini (interrogation video): and you went over to your shop? scott peterson (interrogation video): right. al brocchini (interrogation video): and whatd you do over there?

scott peterson: i assembled my mortiser. know what a mortiser is? al brocchini (interrogation video): no. scott peterson (interrogation video): its a woodworking tool, to make tables. al brocchini (interrogation video): yeah. scott peterson (interrogation video): i just got that, so i assembled it. checked my e-mail. sent one email. then hooked the boat up, and went. keith morrison : then, said scott, he drove to the berkeley marina about ninety miles away. parked his car, and put his boat in the water. al brocchini (interrogation video): when you got in your boat and you took off, did you go very far, or-- scott peterson (interrogation video): well, i mean, probably a couple miles. i went north, found a-- like, a little island kind of deal there. al brocchini (interrogation video): mm-hm. scott peterson (interrogation video): island had a bunch of trash on it. i remember a big sign that said, "no landing." it looked like some broken piers around it. and i just assumed it would be a decent, you know, shallow area. al brocchini (interrogation video): did you troll? scott peterson (interrogation video): little bit.

i mean, a lot of-- lot of the reason i went was just to get that boat in the water. keith morrison : details that sounded plausible enough, except to detective brocchini. keith morrison : he drew a short straw when he got a fisherman to talk to? al brocchini: me and the-- and the officers. they were fishermen, too. his fishing pole is like one youd use in a stream. and his lures are jigs that you would use in a delta. he didnt even know what he was fishing for. he didnt know what bait he was using. and he didnt have any gear that was really meant to be fishing in the bay. keith morrison : brocchini also wondered, why had scott bought a fishing license days before, if he didnt know he was going to fish that day? al brocchini: theres a receipt dated december 20th. thats when he bought his fishing license. keith morrison: but then he said it was a last-minute decision. al brocchini: he said, it was just that day. that-- the-- the last-minute decision. so-- keith morrison: so that didnt quite jibe? al brocchini: that doesnt-- that doesnt jibe. keith morrison : the detective was, to say the least, skeptical of scotts fishing story. al brocchini: why would you go ninety mile-- all--

if all youre doing is you want to try out your new boat, right? keith morrison: uh-huh. al brocchini: and you live in modesto, i could tell you twenty places within twenty-five miles of here you could put that boat in the water and te-- try it out. keith morrison : but scott said he had proof, a parking receipt from the marina. al brocchini: yeah, here-- here-- heres my receipt, guess just to prove i was there, you know. so i mean, ive-- ive fished at berkeley marina lots of times. and ive probably got four or five of them on my dashboard right now. but i dont know what made him decide to, okay, im done fishing. ill take it off my dashboard and then ill put it in my pocket in case i need it for later. i dont know. but that just-- keith morrison: mm-hm. al brocchini: --he was ready. prepared. keith morrison : scott said the fish werent biting that christmas eve afternoon, so he headed back to modesto, and got home around four thirty, where he found the dog with the leash attached. an unlocked back door, but no laci. scott peterson (interrogation video): grabbed some pizza from the fridge. al brocchini (interrogation video): took the box out? scott peterson (interrogation video): yeah, put it on the counter like it was.

glass of milk. then jumped in the shower. keith morrison : he was calm as he spoke to brocchini. calm, matter-of-fact, helpful. al brocchini (interrogation video): were you calling for laci or-- scott peterson (interrogation video): oh, yeah, of course. al brocchini (interrogation video): but she wasnt home? scott peterson (interrogation video): no. assumed she was at her moms. al brocchini (interrogation video): okay. so then you called over her moms? scott peterson (interrogation video): thats right. al brocchini (interrogation video): had they heard from her? scott peterson (interrogation video): no. not all day. keith morrison: he answers your questions, but he doesnt do any more than that, right? is that fair to say? al brocchini: yeah, he has an answer. keith morrison: uh-huh. al brocchini: and he doesnt elaborate, doesnt get emotional. keith morrison : which the investigators thought, at the time, wasnt necessarily a good thing. al brocchini: he told me, oh, thats concerning. i get home and her car is there and the dogs running around on a leash. and, you know, the doors unlocked. and her purse is here. and her f-- and thats-- thats really concerning me. but let me take all my clothes off and wash them and let me,

you know, let me eat some pizza and take a shower before i even try to figure out whats going on here. thats concerning. that was concerning to me. keith morrison : and then the detective asked the question that soon everyone would be asking. al brocchini (interrogation video): so what-- what youre telling me, scott, is theres no-- you have no idea where laci is. scott peterson (interrogation video): i do not. jon buehler: most people if-- in that situation, theyre going to have a lot of questions for you. keith morrison: sure. jon buehler: well, are you guys doing this? ive heard of this. why dont you do this? keith morrison: mm-hm. jon buehler: oh, we got that from sharon. we got that from ron. we got that from lacis friends. everybody had an interest in-- in trying to get us to go faster. keith morrison : everybody, that is, but scott. now why, they wondered, would that be? keith morrison : coming up-- scott peterson (recording): hey, beautiful. i just left a message at home. jon buehler: when i listen to that, i thought that he was leaving this recording for us to hear. keith morrison : scott, under scrutiny. sharon rocha: i was afraid to say it out loud.

could he be involved with her disappearance? keith morrison : when dateline continues some people just know they could save hundreds on car insurance by checking allstate first. okay, let's get going. can everybody see that? like you know to check your desktop first, before sharing your screen. ahh..that is not. uhh, oh no. no no no. i don't know how that got in there. no. that, uhh. yeah, checking first is smart. okay, uhh. everybody get out. so check allstate first for a quote that could save you hundreds. you're in good hands with allstate. [coughing] copd is an ugly reality. do you have his medical history? i watch as his world just keeps getting smaller. but then, trelegy helped us see things a little differently. with 3 medicines in 1 inhaler, trelegy keeps airways open for a full 24 hours and prevents future flare-ups. once-daily trelegy also improves lung function,

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hi, i am richard lui with breaking news. the senate passing a spending bill avoiding a government shutdown before christmas. this resolution includes $100 billion for disaster relief and $10 billion for farmers. the senate rescued funding for pediatric cancer research. german authorities have detained a 50-year-old doctor from saudi arabia suspected of driving a car into a christmas market it was at high speed. nearly 70 injured and multiple killed. for now back to "dateline." " disappeared they had a vigil. stacey boyers: everyone coming together and praying just helps, helps you feel

like youre doing something. keith morrison : candles and prayers and tears and though much of modesto was here, in body or spirit, not a single person understood-- not yet, not for a while-- why this gathering would become a defining moment. especially, perhaps, scott peterson. because, though it looked as if he might have shed a tear or two he seemed to avoiding lacis family and friends. keith morrison : what about the vigil? sharon rocha: he wasnt-- rene tomlinson: he wasnt on the stage. sharon rocha: no, he wasnt on the stage. rene tomlinson: he was not. lori ellsworth: no, he was on the phone. keith morrison : sharon wouldnt know for a long time the truth about scotts phone call that night. but it was that night after the vigil that privately, sharon first allowed her mind to go to that very dark place. sharon rocha: i remember it was new years eve-- lori ellsworth: yeah. sharon rocha: --when i started going back and forth, but just to myself. i wouldnt say it out loud. i was afraid to say it out loud. but i started just kind of thinking, could he be involved with her disappearance?

keith morrison : sharon was a frantic mess and she looked at him and he just seemed so detached somehow. sharon rocha: never once did he say, oh, my god. where is laci? stacey boyers: no. sharon rocha: where could she be? i hope shes okay. i hope, you know, shes not harmed. never, ever, ever-- keith morrison: you were feeling that panic. even as you talk about it, you can see a little bit of it left. sharon rocha: yes. keith morrison: he did not seem to have that sense? sharon rocha: no. he did not have it. and i actually made out a list of, did he and-- or didnt he? i had a list. and there was a lot more on the did than didnt. and thats what really scared me. keith morrison : it scared her. she didnt want to believe it. didnt want to go there. so she didnt, put that thought out of her mind. but the detectives were trained to go there. they turned over everything scott said and did and didnt do and wondered why. there was a slickness, somehow, a fake-feeling from the very beginning. like the voicemail he left laci while he drove

home from the berkeley marina. scott peterson (recording): hey, beautiful. i just left you a message at home. jon buehler: when i listened to that, i thought, nah, this doesnt sound right. been married five years, shes pregnant. and hes talking to her like theyre on their third date? scott peterson (recording): im leaving berkeley. ill see you in a bit, sweetie. love you. bye. jon buehler: the tone to it, that he was leaving this recording for us to hear so that he would appear to us as this devoted husband, and not somebody that was involved in foul play. keith morrison: of course, it could also be that he was just a romantic guy. jon buehler: we couldnt rule that out at all. keith morrison : and there was this -- under the circumstances, the very day laci disappeared, why was he almost obsessively fastidious when they searched his pickup truck? al brocchini: he was worried about the wrong things. im searching his truck. and i open the door, and it bangs into the land rover. he was right up there and he goes, al, and he has a glove, ill hold this or ill move my truck. but, you know, i actually-- i wrote it in my police report, because im like, thats weird.

keith morrison : these werent hard facts of evidence, of course, just a rising damp of suspicion. things like when did scott get a boat? sharon rocha: the detective said that he said that he had taken his boat out. and i said, what boat? lori ellsworth: what boat? sharon rocha: scott doesnt have a boat. keith morrison: yeah. sharon rocha: until-- keith morrison: turned out. sharon rocha: he did have a boat. lori ellsworth: yep. sharon rocha: yes. keith morrison : scott had told brocchini that laci knew about the boat. how could it be that sharon had no idea that scott had recently bought a used fourteen-foot gamefisher? al brocchini: the-- the light didnt just go on in my head and say, oh, he killed her. no, it didnt. i treated him like a husband. keith morrison: uh-huh. al brocchini: and a mi-- the husband of a missing person. but i had suspicions. and i asked him to take me to the boat. show me the boat. keith morrison : very late that first night, the detective and scott went to scotts warehouse, where he worked and kept his boat. keith morrison : you came here that night, right? al brocchini: christmas eve night. yeah. keith morrison: what did he tell you when you came here? do you wanted to look inside and you had

your flashlight out, and stuff? al brocchini: he said theres no electricity. keith morrison : no lights, which was a lie. al brocchini: so i just said, open the door and ill put my headlights in there. keith morrison : to the detectives, it all smelled bad. so they did the things detectives do. they got a wiretap on scotts phone, hid a gps under his car, and they watched him constantly. sometimes, they noticed he watched them, too. al brocchini: i was surveilling him and im in an unmarked car. im parked three blocks away in a high school parking lot full of cars, and im watching this place with binoculars. and all of a sudden, i look in my side view mirror, and scott. so i got out of the car. and he-- he says, hey al. keith morrison : it was just odd. keith morrison : as was this - 16 days after laci disappeared... when searchers in the bay... found something natalie morales: sonar detected an object underwater that could be a body. keith morrison : sharon froze.

terrified. she was still hoping laci was alive. keith morrison : listen to this recording from the wiretap on scott's phone. you can hear sharon's relief when she called to tell him it wasn't laci. shaon rocha: hi, scott. this is mom ... just want you to know ... it was a boat anchor. of course we knew it wasn't laci. but i just wanted you to know, um --. keith morrison : that's scott whistling in the background; he seems relieved too detective buehler: like, (whistle) "i just dodged that one." now you can interpret that both ways, that, "oh, my. good, i'm glad it wasn't laci." but for us, with all the things that led up to that point, it was more like/ he felt lucky that that really wasn't her, suggesting to us that we were looking in the right spot. keith morrison : and yet he seemed such a boy scout, he had no secret criminal past, no history of being abusive. al brocchini (interrogation video): have you guys-- you guys-- have you had any problems-- marriage problems? scott peterson (interrogation video): no. al brocchini (interrogation video): everything is good? scott peterson (interrogation video): mm-hm. keith morrison : so they stewed in their suspicion, aware they really that nothing on him. jon buehler: we couldnt find anything wrong with this guy.

i dont think there was a wart on his body. i dont think he ever had a traffic ticket. i mean, he really was the guy you want to marry your sister. we were waiting for that one thing that showed that he wasnt this perfect guy. keith morrison : in one remarkable moment, theyd get that and more because of her. keith morrison : coming up-- amber frey: he was single and looking for the one. keith morrison : --enter amber. scott peterson (recording): hey, sweetheart. scott here. amber frey: it was going really good. keith morrison: did you start to think about, wait a minute, i could actually make a life with this man? amber frey: you know, i-- i did. keith morrison : when dateline continues.

keith morrison : october 2002. months before laci peterson disappeared and a hundred miles away in fresno, california, something happened that would make all the difference in the case. a young woman named amber frey got a phone call from a friend

about a guy. amber frey: i was doing really well in getting my career started in massage therapy. and a single mother. and was told about this great guy that-- that my friend wanted me to meet. keith morrison: sort of set you up on a date. amber frey: yeah. so it was a blind date. a first i said, "okay," a little kinda like, "i wonder-- you know, i wonder who she sees as a good fit for me." keith morrison : he sounded perfect. amber frey: she said he had a good sense of humor. good looking. had a career. he was single and looking for the one. like, soulmate. keith morrison: he was serious about this? amber frey: yeah. keith morrison : his name -- scott peterson. it was late november when they met in person. and it was electric. amber frey: i mean, we just had a really great first date. like, really good. keith morrison: sometimes you meet somebody, its very easy to talk to them. you feel as if theres no wall between the two of you.

amber frey: right. keith morrison: it was like that? amber frey: yeah. keith morrison: was it like he was immediately attracted to you and you to him? amber frey: when we first met, we were both, kind of, chuckled about being pleasantly surprised at one another. and so i would say there was a-- mutual attraction. keith morrison: what did he tell you about himself? amber frey: so on our first date he was telling me a little bit about his family and plans he had upcoming, like thanksgiving and-- like fishing trips and going to maine with his family in a cabin and he was planning to go to europe-- with some friends. keith morrison : he wooed her, fast, with strawberries and champagne. keith morrison : it was early, bright, and exciting. amber frey: absolutely. keith morrison : he was eager to bond with ambers little girl. amber frey: he was really sweet with her. she was excited. we had planned a picnic and a little hike. she held both of our hands as we walked and was comfortable with him. keith morrison: that mustve been very sweet at the time. amber frey: it was. keith morrison: and its not always you find a man who is comfortable with the idea

that you have a child or children. amber frey: right. keith morrison : he bought them both gifts. he brought groceries to their house, he made dinner. he was considerate, caring. even in voicemail. scott peterson (recording): hey, sweetheart. scott here. im on my way-- driving to the gym here to do my weekly five-minute workout. see how youre doing. ill try to give you a call tomorrow. bye. amber frey: it was going really good. i was really excited. he was always complimenting. you know, like, you leave the best messages. and, you know, looking forward to seeing you. keith morrison : all so perfect. what scott never mentioned, of course, was that he was married. his wife was laci, and he and laci were readying a nursery for their first born, who was on his way. no, amber knew nothing of that, and yet something wasnt sitting right with her, she thought. why, when he called her, was there so often the sound of running water in the background, as if he was masking the sound of their conversation? amber frey: it was just odd. keith morrison: yeah.

amber frey: like, why are you talking to me in the shower? you know, he kind of blew it off. like, it wasnt a big deal. keith morrison : but then early december-- amber frey: he had called me one day saying he really needed to talk to me and i could hear in his voice he was worried or concerned or something was going on. keith morrison : scott was contrite. said he had a confession to make. amber frey: he apologized because he wasnt honest with me that id asked if he had ever been married and-- and-- that, in fact, he had lost his wife, and this would be the first holidays without her. keith morrison: and thats the expression he used? i lost my wife? amber frey: yes. and he was crying and just, you know, like, very emotional. keith morrison : it was a tender moment, said amber. and she felt compassion for him. amber frey: i thought, well, maybe she died of, you know, cancer or in an accident, or-- i mean, because obvious-- his-- his words were obviously, you know, something recent or more recent.

keith morrison: yeah. sure. did you ask? amber frey: i didnt ask. i didnt want to pry, because he was so emotional. keith morrison : with that secret off his chest, scott gave her a new cell phone number where she could reach him when he took a long planned trip to europe over christmas. that is-- amber frey: if you still want to talk to me after, you know, because-- keith morrison: after ive told you this. amber frey: right. and so i was like, yes. of course. keith morrison: did you start to think about, wait a minute. i could actually make a life with this man? amber frey: you know, i-- i did. keith morrison : and yet? even here, december 14th, as they got ready for a christmas party with ambers friends, the little beast of doubt was worming its way into her mind. amber frey: i was starting to feel that womans intuition. something just wasnt right. keith morrison: really? amber frey: yes. keith morrison : while he was in europe, he told her, she should write to him at a post office box in modesto. but he had told her he lived in sacramento, so why modesto?

why these odd questions she couldnt answer? she had a cop friend. she called him. could he check up on scott peterson from sacramento? a few days later, her friend called back. amber frey: he said that he found an article and that he was going to print it and bring it to me. i said, okay. keith morrison : that was december 29th. scott had left for europe two days earlier-- or so he said. and then amber read the article. amber frey: i was in disbelief of what im reading because i-- it sounds like him. fertilizer salesman. modesto. i dont think there was a full picture of him, but there was-- his truck was in this article. keith morrison : so were these words: "pregnant" and "missing." amber frey: i need this confirmed. i dont want to believe what i just read. keith morrison: kind of turning your world upside down? amber frey: oh, yeah. absolutely. keith morrison : and thats when amber called the modesto police. amber frey: i reach a dispatcher, and i said, im--

ive been dating this person. i just want to know if this is the same person. keith morrison: sure. amber frey: and she just kept saying, okay. okay. and like, okay, it is? or okay, what? i gave his birth date. i gave his full name and-- and then she says, okay. and then i said, okay, yes? she goes, yes. keith morrison : yes, ambers scott peterson and the scott peterson with the missing wife were one and the same. amber frey: and i just remember crying. like, i dont know for how long. i was shaking. like, the adrenaline and just-- i was in shock. keith morrison : amber frey, who thought maybe shed met the one, was in the middle of something terrible. keith morrison : coming up-- scott peterson (recording): amber? ron beigler: we wanted to start recording calls. keith morrison : --hushed conversations, hidden recordings. amber goes undercover. al brocchini: as soon as i plug in her little recorder and im showing her push the red button and the black button, the phone rings. amber frey: he called. scott peterson (recording): hey, ill be in paris tomorrow.

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keith morrison : in all fairness to the modesto police department, scrambling to manage that flood of tips about laci peterson, ambers phone call was a barely discernible ripple. keith morrison : did they call you back right away? amber frey: no. keith morrison : so the next day she called again and, looking over the dispatchers shoulder at just the right moment, was detective brocchini. al brocchini: i just happened to be standing behind one of them. and bev was typing. and i could see the name amber frey. and then shes-- and scott petersons my boyfriend. the whole-- keith morrison: so youre seeing all this being-- al brocchini: im-- im seeing this, so i said, bev, are you talking to her? and, yeah. i said, okay, let me talk to her. keith morrison : and before long,

the two detectives were in fresno listening, in person, to ambers story of scotts amorous courtship. ron beigler: it was almost like a scriptwriter was writing this. very talented with the romance he was. amber frey: i basically just told them our whole relationship that we had been having and what our conversation was currently at the moment. keith morrison: and that he was over in europe somewhere. amber frey: right. and-- and they-- you know, i think they too were just a little, like, in disbelief shaking their head. no, hes definitely in modesto. keith morrison : scott had been lying the whole time. elaborately. hed even called amber from a payphone at the airport to say goodbye when he supposedly left for europe, so shed see the caller id. but if amber hadnt known where scott really was, she sure knew a lot. jon buehler: and she had a mental recall that was punctuated with wine corks and all sorts of memorabilia-- keith morrison: that she had saved? jon buehler: that shed saved from their romance.

keith morrison : so then the detectives asked, could she help them in their investigation? amber frey: at that point, i said, whatever was needed, i would cooperate with them because it wasn't about me at that point. keith morrison: no. amber frey: there was a missing pregnant woman. keith morrison: true. amber frey: and i'm talk-- you know, i've been having a relationship with her husband unknowingly he was married. jon buehler: well, we wanted to start recording calls. keith morrison : amber agreed. so, they went right out and bought a portable recorder. and what do you know? al brocchini: as soon as i plug in her little recorder and im showing her push the red button and the black button, the phone rings. amber frey: he called. keith morrison: oh, boy. scott peterson (recording): amber? hey. are you there? amber frey (recording): im here. scott peterson (recording): i can barely hear you. amber frey: and their expression, they-- they were just like, well, i cant believe hes calling you right now. scott peterson (recording): hey, ill be in paris tomorrow. im flying to normandy right now, and hopefully the phone works better.

amber frey: i was shaking uncontrollably. my fingers were, like, just sweaty, palmy mess. keith morrison: yeah. amber frey: and i was fumbling because i was so just nervous and scared. keith morrison : and so it began. for the next eight days, scott peterson pretended he was traveling in europe. amber frey, pretending she was still his girlfriend. the cops, they kept looking bringing scent dogs to berkeley, divers to the bay. lacis friends held that vigil and prayed. all the while amber secretly recorded her conversations with scott, inwardly trembling. amber frey: i was shaking and trying to catch my breath and calm down. there was just too much nerves there. and i would pace back and forth. keith morrison : one of those calls, of course she didnt know it at the time, was going to be notorious. amber frey: new years eve. keith morrison: that was the big one? amber frey: yeah.

keith morrison : coming up-- amber frey: okay, first of all, i met scott peterson november 20, 2002. keith morrison : --revealing the truth to the world: amber freys firestorm. jon buehler: we believed at the time it was probably best to get her up there. almost like exploding your own bomb. amber frey: i was introduced to him. i was told he was unmarried. scott told me he was not married. we did have a romantic relationship. amber frey: i had a panic attack, i couldnt breathe. i literally could not catch my breath. keith morrison : when dateline continues.

keith morrison (voiceover): continuing now with our story. laci peterson is missing. i was absolutely panicked. i thought somebody kidnapped her. keith morrison (voiceover): her husband is playing it cool. he was steve mcqueen cool. keith morrison (voiceover): but the woman he's been secretly seeing has turned the tables. i was shaking uncontrollably.

keith morrison (voiceover): soon, a discovery and an arrest. and then prosecutors speak out in a rare television interview. --very true. there's something underneath the surface that is truly evil. keith morrison (voiceover): amber frey had been working with detectives, covertly recording her conversations with scott peterson. in this one, scott told amber he was calling from a continent away, having a ball in paris. of course, it was a big lie. keith morrison (voiceover): in fact, the crowd was huge. it just wasn't in paris. it was in modesto.

and they weren't celebrating. scott called amber from the vigil for laci, the one where he made himself scarce while sharon and laci's friends pleaded for help. and scott called amber, inventing fine details of his trip like jogging on the cobblestones of europe. keith morrison (voiceover): he worked out the time difference for his phone calls. keith morrison (voiceover): and he kept on wooing her, unaware of who was listening. keith morrison (voiceover): all very interesting. but-- what were you hoping for from those recorded conversations that you didn't get? well, of course, ideally i was hoping that he would

say, "no, i murdered my wife. i dumped her in the bay, and let's run off to europe." but that wasn't going to happen. keith morrison (voiceover): so detectives went right at him. they asked scott to come down to the police department again. and without telling him where they got it, they showed him a fax of a photo of himself with amber frye at the christmas party. and of course, he lies when he's confronted. keith morrison (voiceover): prosecutor birgit fladager. birgit fladager: he sees the picture of himself with amber. and he says, that's not me. was it clearly him? it was. keith morrison (voiceover): if scott suspected the detectives had somehow found out about amber, he didn't let on. and he kept calling her, and she kept recording. but he started testing her with questions. amber frey: and i was like, "what bombing?" there was another time he had asked if i had seen the article on the monarch butterflies that

are in pismo. and i said, no. i gathered right away, he was asking because these were, in fact, something that was in the paper, possibly. right. if i was looking at the news. keith morrison (voiceover): to find out, in other words, if she knew about laci. and then on january 6, 13 days after laci disappeared, scott told amber himself.

keith morrison (voiceover): scott had no idea, of course, that amber happened to be in the police station when he offered that big admission, or that amber's responding question was a huge deal to both her and the cops.

keith morrison (voiceover): different kinds of loss? now, what did that mean? while investigators built their case against scott, laci's family was in a world of pain. it was january of 2003, and sharon rocha was still gripping on to a slipping remnant of hope that her laci was still alive, was barely hanging on. the day soon after that new year's eve vigil, when scott walked into the house. and i asked him, how are you doing? and he said, you know, i'm doing ok. and i just remember, it was almost

like i was just pulling back from him, thinking, you're doing ok? what do you mean you're doing ok? keith morrison (voiceover): sharon definitely wasn't doing ok, while the cops, moving forward incrementally, needed more. police looking for laci peterson in modesto, california want to verify her husband's alibi. keith morrison (voiceover): modesto pd put out a bulletin. had anyone seen this truck, this boat on christmas eve? they expanded their ground search to the foothills, the reservoirs, even mineshafts. and by mid-january, police decided they needed to tell sharon about scott's affair. we said, hey, we've got some information we got to let you know about on this. and the best thing we can do is just give it to you. keith morrison (voiceover): they showed her the photo at amber's christmas party, the one scott said wasn't him. i literally thought i was going to throw up. i just stood up real fast, because i wanted to get out of there. i wanted to get away from them.

i didn't want to hear what they were saying. keith morrison (voiceover): what mother would? i just remember my stomach just turning. and i just saying-- just crying, he didn't have to kill her. it changed everything you'd ever thought about him. it did. keith morrison (voiceover): detective buehler had told sharon about amber because rumors were in the air. the media was sniffing about and getting close. i get to the office. the reporter was right there. oh boy. amber frey: yeah. keith morrison (voiceover): january 24, local news showed up at amber's workplace. the national tabloids were not far behind. keith morrison: did you talk to them? no. i refused to talk to anybody. keith morrison (voiceover): trapped in her office, she called detective buehler. that's when the modesto pd decided that, if amber's story was going to break anyway, they'd break it on their terms. we believed, at the time, it was probably best to get her up there, almost like exploding your own bomb. keith morrison (voiceover): buehler sent two colleagues to fetch her with a statement all prepared. we were speeding back, in a sense, getting there.

and you know, having this statement written out, you know, trying to read a few times so it's not too foreign. keith morrison (voiceover): as they drove to modesto, headquarters gathered the media, big news a'comin'. again, we are waiting for modesto police to come out any moment and speak on developments in the laci peterson investigation. keith morrison (voiceover): and this is the moment when amber frye burst like a deer in headlights onto the public stage. [sigh] ok. first of all, i met scott peterson november 20, 2002. i was introduced to him. i was told he was unmarried. scott told me he was not married. we did have a romantic relationship. i had a panic attack. i couldn't breathe. i literally could not catch my breath. when i discovered he was involved in the disappearance-- or the laci peterson disappearance case, i immediately contacted the modesto police department. keith morrison (voiceover): she

spoke for just over a minute. i am very sorry for laci's family and the pain that this has caused them. and i pray for her safe return as well. keith morrison (voiceover): and now everyone knew, and scott knew everyone knew. so did he stop calling amber frey? no. listen to this. keith morrison (voiceover): scott called to congratulate her, to thank her. very strange. the police were thanking amber too. now, they had new clues, like the day scott told amber he lost his wife. it was the very same day he bought the boat.

coincidence? no, thought the police, had to be evidence of premeditation. the very existence of amber frey changed everything and revealed that many little beasts of doubt had been churning about in the minds of even scott's diehard supporters. after amber came forward, that's when they started to open up about the things that they had been kind of hiding and holding back. keith morrison (voiceover): people remembered things, like how scott once told someone he was hoping for infertility, that he seemed uncomfortable holding babies, that he didn't want to touch laci's pregnant stomach, that he complained he was having a midlife crisis at age 30. now, when people thought about his story that laci walked her dog, they remembered she'd been too tired to do that. and they remembered too the peculiar way he acted the night laci disappeared. we were standing in the driveway. i asked if he had called his parents. he said, no.

i was trying to have a conversation with him, and he continued to just turn away from me. he would never look me in the eye. i had to keep following him around trying to have visual contact with him. keith morrison (voiceover): because scott peterson had something to hide. coming up. i had a romantic relationship that was inappropriate. scott peterson goes public, when "dateline" continues. can neuriva support your brain health? mary. janet. hey! eddie. no! fraser. frank. frank. fred. how are you? support up to seven brain health indicators, including memory. when you need to remember, remember neuriva.

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since christmas eve, our one and only focus is to find laci and to bring her home to us. i love my daughter so much. i miss her every minute of every day. keith morrison (voiceover): on the same day that amber frey told the world about her relationship with scott peterson-- scott told me he was not married. keith morrison (voiceover): laci's mother stood before the cameras too. it was exactly a month since laci disappeared. i miss sharing our thoughts and our lives together. i miss her smile and her laughter and her sense of humor, and i miss everything about her. keith morrison (voiceover): sharon, who kept trying to keep hope alive, found it slipping away. someone has taken all of this away from me and everyone else who loves her. keith morrison (voiceover): any thoughts that scott had nothing to do with it gone too, even though sharon would not mention him by name. i know that someone knows where laci is, and i'm pleading with you, please, please, let her come home to us. keith morrison (voiceover): unbeknownst to them,

scott was thinking about going public too. and he discussed it with-- who else? amber. keith morrison (voiceover): he got it all right. a sudden whirl of interviews a few days after his affair with amber was revealed. scott talked about it on nbc's bay area station. obviously, yes, i had a romantic relationship that was inappropriate and unfair to a lot of people. keith morrison (voiceover): and now, many of the people who knew scott had loved scott no longer believed a word he said. for the police, who'd never believed him, amber frey was just one part of

an intricate and entirely circumstantial case against scott. it relied on the smallest of details. --hope she's safe. keith morrison (voiceover): strands of evidence to try to weave into a rope with which to hang scott peterson. another strand? scott's sudden desire to sell his and laci's home just weeks after she went missing. he said, "i think we should get the house up on the market." and my mom said, "this isn't the time to be discussing this, scott." keith morrison (voiceover): but he did sell laci's car. another strand. and then there was this cement dust at scott's warehouse. a lot of people use concrete anchors for small aluminum boats. keith morrison: sure. and it looked like five of these little coffee can anchors had been made there on that trailer. keith morrison (voiceover): but only this one anchor was found. it's clear there was more than one. now, where are those? nobody knows. keith morrison (voiceover): were the other four used to weigh down laci's body?

and though scott said going fishing was a last minute decision, there were sea charts and maps of the berkeley marina on his computer from early december. and scott told police he spent time at his warehouse office on the day laci disappeared. and they couldn't help but notice how secluded the place was. well, this is very isolated back here, and especially on a christmas eve. if you wanted to get away with something, this is a place you could do it. yeah. keith morrison (voiceover): like move a body into a boat, thought the detective. detective: we have a window here in the front, and note that the screen is ajar. keith morrison (voiceover): so police gathered the strands, spun the rope. and everything that happened, happened with a lot of people watching. reporter: where does scott peterson stand in all of this? he's not been eliminated from the investigation, nor has he been identified as a suspect. keith morrison (voiceover): not identified as a suspect, not officially. yet clearly, the only person of interest

for the cops and the media. reporter: what you got in the bags there? detective: evidence. reporter: evidence? keith morrison (voiceover): and sharon kept grappling with the depressing truth that she just didn't want to believe. i felt that i should have felt her leave this earth. i brought her into this world. i should have felt when she left, so that i would have known whether she was gone or not. so at that time, i still had hope that-- that she was coming home. it's a strange and powerful thing, though, isn't it? sharon rocha: it is. you give birth to a person. you bring them up, and you feed them. and you care for them. and-- and we were very, very, very close. keith morrison: yes. keith morrison (voiceover): and scott? he soon faded from public view, didn't stay much in modesto. and amber finally told him to stop calling her.

[train horns] keith morrison (voiceover): and everyone just waited. until the sea finally revealed what everybody had been waiting for. coming up. i felt something that day. i just knew. keith morrison (voiceover): a devastating discovery, and a ride into danger. jon buehler: this was completely off the charts. nobody's ever reacted this way. keith morrison (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. alright, we got your home and auto bundled and you saved hundreds. oh, that's nice, with the economy and all. what's the economy? [chuckling] where do we start? what isn't the economy? yes. [ laughter ]

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april 13, 2003. it was a cool day in northern california. sharon rocha was hiding from the world. it was one of those days. i just buried myself in the couch with a blanket over my head. keith morrison (voiceover): she had so locked herself away that day that friends had to come to her house to tell her there was news. they're knocking on my back door, on the slider in the backyard. keith morrison (voiceover): it had been nearly four months since laci disappeared. yet, somehow, sharon felt more bad news was coming. early that morning, when the tides were low, the body of a baby had been found on the shoreline

north of berkeley. the next day, another body. a torso, badly decomposed, was found nearby. the contra costa county coroner has arrived at the scene and has now recovered the remains of the victim, who, at this time, letting people know that we believe the gender of the victim is female. keith morrison (voiceover): but even without positive identification, everyone knew, even sharon, who, despite everything, kept trying to hold on to a shred of hope that she'd wake from a nightmare. from scott, there was not a peep. the fact that he didn't pick up the phone and call anybody to find out if that was his wife and his baby left no doubt in my mind. keith morrison (voiceover): her daughter was dead. her grandson would never be born. detective jon buehler had known that for a while. and now, he was nearly ready to arrest scott, just not quite. we were going to wait to serve the warrant

until after the dna results were released to confirm the bodies were laci and connor. keith morrison (voiceover): by right that april, scott peterson was living in san diego near his parents. so tick, tick, tick. detectives waited for lab results. police kept an eye on scott. they had the surveillance going on him for quite some time before that. keith morrison (voiceover): then, april 18, 2003, 7:00 am, the lab results were still pending when scott peterson decided to play cat and mouse with whomever was after him. he's a pretty good driver, at least he was. he knew we were behind him. keith morrison (voiceover): scott started driving erratically, very fast. we were trying to keep this rolling surveillance on him. we had a helicopter for part of the time. keith morrison (voiceover): he stopped and started. he'd cross over three lanes of traffic and take an exit ramp. and of course, we couldn't do that. we'd end up missing him. keith morrison (voiceover): driving evasively at times, giving one cop the finger. how long did he lead you on this merry chase?

oh, gosh. this was-- it seemed like it might have been a couple of hours or so. maybe longer. keith morrison (voiceover): scott, with police trailing, traveled 160 miles that morning, until law enforcement decided it was just too dangerous. we have to arrest him. they put the lights on him, and he pulled off into the entrance to torrey pines gold course. and they made contact with him as we pulled up. he came out of the car, put the handcuffs on him. no hysterics, no profanity, typical scott in all his controlled demeanor. keith morrison (voiceover): what they found in the car with scott was fascinating. camping gear, four cell phones, his sister's credit card, his brother's driver's license. and cash. almost $15,000 in cash. in cash. keith morrison (voiceover): he also looked different, way different, by intent, clearly. keith morrison: when you arrested him, did he express anything that would suggest he understood that that was it, he was going away?

i went to search his car. he said, "jon, can you tell me if those bodies were my wife and son?" and i just told him, "scott, you already know the answer to that." keith morrison (voiceover): as they drove north to modesto with their prisoner in the back seat, buehler got confirmation that the dna was in. the bodies were connor and laci. they told scott. now, he's wearing sunglasses at the time i look, and he doesn't make hardly any reaction whatsoever. keith morrison (voiceover): later, when they stopped at a roadside burger place to get something to eat, given the news he just received, buehler assumed scott wouldn't have much of an appetite. he was wrong. and he goes, "i'll have a double double with cheese, a small fry and a vanilla shake." like we were coming back from fishing. keith morrison (voiceover): cold? that's what buehler thought. i've run into people that have had grief before, many, many times. and this was completely off the charts. nobody's ever reacted this way in my presence, when it came to something like that.

keith morrison (voiceover): when they got back to modesto, scott was booked into jail. it seemed like the end of the road for scott peterson. but the circus wasn't leaving. it was just moving up the road a bit. coming up. i am innocent. he can be very smooth. but there's something underneath the surface. keith morrison (voiceover): prosecutors speak out in an in-depth television interview. doesn't change the facts. he wanted a different life. keith morrison (voiceover): years later, they share their story. when "dateline" continues. air wick. every year millions of noses are ghosted by their plug-ins. new air wick advanced. our ground-breaking plug-in that pulses scent for staying power, up to 60 days. plus a fragrance boost button. our noses won't be ignored again. my mental health was better. but uncontrollable movements called td,tardive dyskinesia, started disrupting my day. td felt embarrassing.

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and a second unlimited line free for a year. i'm richard lui with breaking news. the senate passing a government funding bill. 38 minutes after the shutdown deadline at midnight, it was the last vote of the 118th congress.

starbucks employees walked off the job in l.a., seattle and they are saying the strike could spread to other cities. it will last five days unless they bring other proposals to the bargaining table. for now, back to "dateline." args of murder, plus the special-- denying the special allegations? mark geragos: absolutely. that's correct, your honor. and i am innocent. keith morrison (voiceover): as the case against scott peterson slowly made its way from arrest to trial, what really happened to laci peterson became a kind of televised courtroom theater. the defense is asking that the jury be sequestered for up to five months. keith morrison (voiceover): the cast included legal celebrities, like defense attorney mark geragos, who signed on to defend scott peterson. scott looks forward to finding out who did this to his wife and to his child, connor.

keith morrison (voiceover): and women's advocate-- thank you for coming today. i'm attorney gloria allred. to my right is amber frey. i'll be making-- keith morrison (voiceover): gloria allred, who erected a protective wall around the story's wild card, amber frey. amber was not going to be doing any interviews during the course of the case, even though so many people wanted to interview her. sure. wasn't she offered immense amounts of money to do covers and things like that? there were many offers to amber, if she would only provide an interview. but she needed to protect her testimony for the actual case. keith morrison (voiceover): but altogether missing in the legal cacophony were the prosecutors, birgit fladager and dave harris. this, all these years later, was their first in-depth television interview about the peterson case. during the trial, they often had to bite their tongues. your radio would go off in the morning-- the radio alarm-- and the little news blurb that you would hear-- first thing you hear. on the pop radio station, whatever,

would reference the case. they could say whatever they wanted. right? and it wasn't always necessarily true. good morning, your honor. judge: good morning. keith morrison (voiceover): in court, geragos won a change of venue, though just 90 miles or so from modesto. did anyone not know about the peterson case? reporter: how is scott feeling about the move? he just wants a trial to take place, so that people will be able to see what really took place. keith morrison (voiceover): scott's mom assured reporters her son was innocent. but she couldn't have been very happy when everyone decamped to the new courthouse and saw this billboard a local radio station bought right across the street. keith morrison: man or monster? what'd you think when you saw that? well, that was when we were about to start jury selection. dave harris: first day of jury selection. yeah. so i think we were worried we were going to have another change of venue. keith morrison (voiceover): but here it stayed. june 1, 2004, a year and a half after laci peterson vanished, her husband scott went on trial for her murder.

and right off the bat the prosecution told the jury about scott and amber. he winced as they showed these photos of the two of them from the night of the party, the same photos that helped him get caught. and then they showed the jury this picture of laci, same night, different party. she went alone. the reason for the murder was he didn't want to be married anymore, and he didn't want to have a child. he wanted a different life. and amber was just a symptom of that. he didn't want what he had. and he wanted to be rid of what he had. birgit fladager: he did. - one way or another. mhm. laci and connor were responsibilities, and he didn't want that. he doesn't care about anyone but himself. he can be very smooth. but there's something underneath the surface that is truly evil. keith morrison (voiceover): so, said the prosecutors, scott strangled her suffocated laci on christmas eve, early in the morning

or possibly the night before. keith morrison: and then after that, after he had done that? dragged her from the bedroom out to the carport, pickup truck backed into the carport, take her out the side door, wrapped up, most likely, load her into the bed of the truck, drive over to the warehouse, move her to the boat, cover the boat. keith morrison (voiceover): then, after sending an email and putting together a woodworking tool, law enforcement believed he headed to the bay. but evidence of murder? that was all circumstantial. they had no incriminating dna, minimal forensics, just all those little strands. and in fact, it didn't always go well for the prosecution, as geragos worked to keep them off balance. we would try and present witnesses in a chronological order in a way that made sense to our theory of the case. and they were very good at disrupting that and saying, we're not ready for that witness. just trying to throw a monkey wrench into your smooth telling of the story? yeah.

if it happened once, maybe it was just coincidence. if it happened every single week, at some point in time, it's a plan. keith morrison (voiceover): it got worse for the prosecution. geragos, who believed the modesto pd had it out for his client, tried to make it look like al brocchini had hidden evidence. he asked him on the stand, "did you delete information from a police report about laci visiting scott's warehouse december 23?" the answer was, i did. and then, ok, we're done for the day. and it's like-- you know? can i answer? and that was a very good point for him to make, because it would create the impression that, in fact, laci did know about the boat, as scott said she did. and it lent credibility to the rest of his story as a result. well, maybe, maybe not. but he could have got the whole story. keith morrison (voiceover): of course, the whole story wasn't what the defense attorney wanted, that the information was in another cop's report, that nothing had been hidden. but what did the jury think? keith morrison: what was your sense of how well

that prosecution was going? i was a bit concerned. i felt that their burden of proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt had not yet been met. keith morrison (voiceover): but the big change, the sea change, was the day she walked in. walking in the courtroom, [laughter] you could hear bodies shifting towards the door. a lot of pressure. keith morrison (voiceover): as scott watched, amber frey told the jury everything from strawberries and champagne on their first date to his tearful confession of losing his wife, weeks before she went missing. keith morrison (voiceover): and all those phone calls were played for the jury. the jury could hear his words-- of course, not his words under oath but his words on the phone call to amber, and how he'd lied and lied and lied,

and even lied about lying. keith morrison (voiceover): mark geragos did what he could. he went after amber repeatedly, questioned her about how much she had to drink on her dates with scott and about how often she and scott had sex and how soon. keith morrison: did the defense rattle you? no. he tried. keith morrison (voiceover): amber didn't buckle, and the prosecution hit its stride. an expert told the jury the baby died between december 23 and december 25. another expert told the jury that laci's decomposition was consistent with three to six months in the water. and a search dog handler testified her dog picked up laci's scent at the berkeley marina. and, said the prosecutors, it was obvious scott peterson knew laci and connor were gone for good. he'd even turned connor's nursery into a storage room. put office furniture and pillows and a locking device from a car in there.

scott wasn't expecting connor to ever come home. keith morrison (voiceover): coming up. he's lying cheat. yes, he was. keith morrison (voiceover): a cheater, a liar. but a killer? i mean, really, who else could have done it? i'm glad you asked that question. keith morrison (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. incoming dishes. —ahhh! —duck! dawn powerwash flies through 99% of grease and grime in half the time. yeah, it absorbs grease five times faster. even replaces multiple cleaning products. ooh, those suds got game. dawn powerwash. the better grease getter. can neuriva support your brain health? mary. janet. hey! eddie. no! fraser. frank. frank. fred. how are you? support up to seven brain health indicators, including memory. when you need to remember, remember neuriva.

supporfour months into thehealth indicatrial, the defensemory. got its chance to disprove the prosecution theory. we wanted to talk to attorney mark geragos about the trial.

he didn't respond to our request. we wanted to talk to scott peterson. but he wasn't interested. turned us down, said his family, because he didn't like my coverage of the case back in 2003. scott's frantic story, simple yet utterly baffling, was this. keith morrison (voiceover): his family still insists he's an innocent man, and we wanted to hear that from them. they turned us down too and suggested we talk to a retired journalist named richard cole, who shares their point of view, and said, the prosecution theory of the case makes no sense. because it was so ridiculous. scott peterson kills his 160 pound wife, puts her body in the back of his truck. he then drives it to his office to pick up the boat. and then what does he do? with the dead body of his wife in a parking lot? he goes back into the office, spends

an hour on the internet sending christmas email to his boss. and then he said, oh, well, i guess i better get rid of the body now. [keyboard clicking] keith morrison (voiceover): cole believes that media coverage biased against the defendant somehow seeped inside the courtroom. this gigantic tsunami of media coverage, much of it false, much of it totally distorted, concentrating on things that had nothing to do with the evidence. and that basically, i think, consumed that little fact trial inside the courthouse. keith morrison (voiceover): the most damaging witness against scott, he said, didn't see anything really related to a murder. but nonetheless, forever tainted scott in the eyes of the public and the jury. once you started looking at that case

through an amber lens, everything he did was wrong. because he's lying cheat. yes, he was. the affair with amber, said cole, made everything scott did look sinister. but it didn't prove he killed laci. scott peterson was behaving pretty oddly. his behavior does look odd. he backed himself into a horrible position. sure. he's thinking, if anyone ever finds out about this woman, not only will it look bad for me, but that will become what this story is about. and he was exactly right. so he very foolishly and not very well tried to keep her at bay with lies, thinking, laci will be home next week. keith morrison (voiceover): and that would explain why scott hid from tv cameras, not guilt about laci, guilt about amber. in cole's mind, scott acted like a man who had expected his wife to come home. so that, said cole, is why scott didn't want

a ding on the car door when the cops were searching his truck. so laci's car, though? richard cole: he did sell the car. because, you know, he was not rich. the peterson family isn't rich. keith morrison (voiceover): and scott hemmed and hawed about what he was fishing for, said cole, because the whole point of the trip was not so much to catch something as it was to test the boat before giving it to laci's stepdad, ron grantski, as a christmas present. the boat was basically kind of a gift. and that's why it was kept a secret from the grantskis, because it was a christmas thing. keith morrison (voiceover): all innocent, said cole. but why did scott tell amber, before laci vanished, "i lost my wife"? keith morrison: amber confronts scott about having a wife, and he says, "i lost her, and this will be my first christmas without her." yeah. scott had had that line used on him by a woman who was married. and he asked her if she was married, and she said, "i lost my husband."

and scott decided that he liked that and that was a really good line. keith morrison (voiceover): in other words, scott was a cad, not a killer, so said cole anyway. but then how to explain the strange similarities between scott's fishing story and the circumstances of the murder? keith morrison: but you know, he went fishing in the bay. yeah. they found the bodies in the bay. richard cole: yes. i mean, really, who else could have done it? richard cole: i'm glad you asked that question. let's remember the scene. she disappears. within a few days, scott's "i went fishing in berkeley" story is all over the media. keith morrison (voiceover): so the real bad guys, maybe local sex offenders, or the two men arrested for the burglary across the street took their victim to the bay and framed scott that way. that's cole's theory anyway. made more sense, he said, than the case against scott. so what really happened on that cold december morning?

12 people would decide. members of the jury, you have heard all the evidence and the arguments of the attorneys. and now, it is my duty to instruct you on the law that applies to this case. keith morrison (voiceover): after five months of trial, the jury went off to deliberate. one day, two, a week, they stayed out. and nobody knew, what were they thinking? coming up. keith morrison: what is it like for your level of anxiety? i felt like i was going to explode. keith morrison (voiceover): a life in the jury's hands. i just burst into tears. everything just comes gushing out. keith morrison (voiceover): when "dateline" continues. [coughing] copd isn't pretty. from the struggle to breathe... to getting stopped in your tracks. bye, grandma. ♪♪ but with trelegy,

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nearly two years after slaci disappeared,s. after nine days of deliberation, the jury in the scott peterson trial finally announced they had a verdict. so it's pretty exciting. and terrifying. keith morrison (voiceover): as the crowds gathered out front, the reporters got into position, and everyone flooded back into the courtroom. keith morrison: what is it like for your level of anxiety? i felt like i was going to explode. [tense music] the verdict is being read right now in a california courtroom in the double murder case against scott peterson. there is no camera in the courtroom, but an audio-- live audio feed is being provided.

keith morrison (voiceover): finally, the words sharon and all those who loved laci had been waiting for. guilty of laci's murder and-- [cheering] keith morrison (voiceover): outside the courthouse, crowds cheered. [cheering] inside? i remember, i just burst into tears. everything just comes gushing out. it's just-- two years of-- anxiety, of waiting. keith morrison (voiceover): a month later, the jury decided scott's fate. keith morrison (voiceover): for 15 years, scott peterson sat on san quentin's death row. he filed the usual appeals but was pretty well written off, a condemned man. until 2020, when something completely unexpected happened.

the california supreme court affirmed one of his appeals and changed his sentence to life. and then those same justices took another step. they ordered the original court to evaluate another of peterson's claims that-- reporter: left side. keith morrison (voiceover): one of the trial, jurors, a woman named richelle nice, known at the time as strawberry shortcake for her hair, lied to get on the case, because she had it out for scott peterson. san quentin's your new home. keith morrison (voiceover): the constitution guarantees the right to an impartial jury. so if peterson's attorneys could prove nice was biased before she sat on that jury, scott peterson's conviction for killing his wife and unborn child would be overturned. and so there were hearings through 2022. nice was questioned about her responses on a questionnaire given out to potential jurors. in particular, why she neglected

to mention an incident of domestic abuse. she also failed to mention she'd filed for a restraining order against a woman she said threatened her while she was pregnant. nice testified she hadn't remembered the restraining order. and as for the abuse, she was the one who started the fight. in fact, her boyfriend back then never hit her, even though he pleaded no contest to one charge of battery. peterson's appeals attorney told the judge, the original defense would have booted nice from the jury pool if he'd known her true story. that had he known about this tro, he would never have permitted this juror. keith morrison (voiceover): the prosecution countered that nice wasn't biased. she was just sloppy. being wrong does not necessarily make it false or make her a liar. it just might be that she's really bad at filling out forms. keith morrison (voiceover): then, just before christmas 2022, the judge issued her decision. peterson's request for a new trial was denied.

she wrote, nice's responses were not motivated by pre-existing or improper bias against petitioner, but instead, were the result of a combination of good faith misunderstanding of the questions and sloppiness in answering. in april, 2023, scott peterson filed a new appeal. so it's not over. and really, it won't ever be over for those who were drawn into this case. laci's mother, her friends, their lives never really returned to normal. how could they? but they've adapted, like humans do. stacey, lori, and renee now have their own children. and those children, who never met laci, know her, in a way. she's part of our lives. i mean, she is a part of our life still. so that means our children need to know about that part of our lives. she's special, and she had a baby. keith morrison (voiceover): so the cemetery isn't a place

of sadness for them, usually. i love it, because my boys get to hear about her. and they always bring cars out for connor, or i think, they brought a baseball out this time. keith morrison (voiceover): it's a place where they can celebrate a life, someone they loved. she's in heaven, and she's in our hearts. keith morrison (voiceover): their laci. woman: beautiful. oh, how pretty. [camera clicking] . i'm craig melvin. and i'm natalie morales. and this is "dateline." spring sendele: i don't go undercover every day. that's what made me nervous. craig melvin (voiceover): they had a secret plan-- were you armed? yes. and you were wearing a wire. yes. craig melvin (voiceover): --to solve a baffling case, a college student on a friday night out who vanished.

she was a very shy girl, but she was something special.