CASE/OFFENDER 3
OFFENSE/CRIME 3-6
MOTIVATIONS/BACKGROUND 6
THEORY 7-8
VICTIMS 8-9
COSTS 9
PROSECUTION/SENTENCING 9-10
CONCLUSION 10
REFERENCES 11-12
CASE/OFFENDER
Scott Lee Peterson was born October 24, 1972 in San Diego, California to Jacqueline Helen Latham and Lee Arthur Peterson. His family was big and athletic and he was raised on strict guidelines set by his father. As a kid, Scott loved to hunt and fish and played golf in high school. He attended the University of San Diego High School and graduated from California Polytechnic State University at San Luis Obispo (A.K.A. Cal Poly) with a B.A. in agricultural business in 1997. While attending Cal Poly, he worked as a waiter in a café, when he met his future wife, Laci Denise Rocha. Those who knew him described Scott as gentle and generous and very reserved when it came to expressing emotion. His father always told him to keep his feelings in check but every once in a while something would push him over the edge and he would snap. Scott Peterson would soon be under fire for the disappearance and murder of his wife Laci and unborn son Conner.
OFFENSE/CRIME
December 23, 2002 would be the last time anyone other than Scott Peterson would see or hear from Laci Peterson, Scott’s 27 year old pregnant wife, when Sharon Rocha, Laci’s mother, phoned her daughter on the evening of the 23rd. Exactly what events played out later that night or early the next morning may never be known. A neighbor reported seeing the couple’s dog roaming the street with a muddy leash dragging the ground. The neighbor was in a hurry and only put the dog in the fenced backyard after seeing Laci’s car in the driveway.
On Christmas Eve 2002, Scott left Laci a voicemail asking her to pick up a Christmas gift that he wasn’t able to get because he was running late after his “fishing” trip. When Scott