Scott Peterson's Sister-in-Law Does Not Believe He Killed His Pregnant Wife Laci Peterson
"There's always been evidence that points to the burglary, but it's all either been a couple degrees of hearsay or whatever."
Updated Aug. 13 2024, 2:35 p.m. ET
There are a lot of people who believe Scott Peterson did not kill his pregnant wife Laci, on Christmas Eve in 2002. Not only has Peterson himself maintained his innocence, but friends and family have been steadily working to get him out of prison. In January 2024, the Los Angeles Innocence Project took up Peterson's case which gave more gravitas to the concept that perhaps the wrong man was behind bars.
One of Peterson's most ardent supporters is his sister-in-law Janey Peterson, who is married to his brother. She is so committed to the idea that someone else was responsible for the deaths of Laci Peterson and her unborn baby that she became an attorney. She has her own theories as to what happened that day. Here's what we know.
Jackie Peterson (L), mother of convicted double-murderer Scott Peterson, arrives with her daughter-in-law Janey Peterson at the San Mateo County Superior Courthouse
Scott Peterson's sister-in-law Janey Peterson believes the murder was the result of a botched burglary.
In 2023, Janey told People Magazine that an evidence claim was filed that contained a document pointing to a botched burglary happening the day Laci was killed. In this document was a signed exhibit from a "person claiming to have heard a man confess to being part of the burglary that took place that day."
This person alleged that Laci caught the burglars wheeling out a safe. In a panic, Janey says they killed Laci but did not immediately hide her body. Janey claimed it was only after seeing Scott on the news discussing where he was fishing that they decided to dump her body in the same area. "That's always been our theory," she told the outlet in June 2023. "There's always been evidence that points to the burglary, but it's all either been a couple degrees of hearsay or whatever."
ABC News obtained court filings submitted by the Los Angeles Innocence Project in January 2024 stating that "new evidence now supports Mr. Peterson's longstanding claim of innocence and raises many questions into who abducted and killed Laci and Conner Peterson." The filings also suggest they are taking Janey's theory very seriously as it includes witness testimony about a December 2002 burglary of a home across the street from the Petersons.
A juror from Scott Peterson's trial says law enforcement ruled out the burglary theory.
According to the New York Post, when the burglary theory was being pushed by Peterson's attorneys at his trial it had already been discredited by police. Mike Belmessieri was a juror on Peterson's 2004 trial, and in January 2024 he spoke with NewsNation about that time. He told Chris Cuomo that the Modesto Police had investigated the individuals responsible for the burglaries, and cleared them of any connection to Laci's death.
When asked by Cuomo about the idea that Peterson could be innocent, Belmessieri pointed to the over 100 witnesses, testimony and evidence. "That's why Scott Peterson is in San Quentin now, and there is no other reason," said Belmessieri. He also admitted that the court of public opinion was not working in Peterson's favor, but blamed the media for that. "Scott Peterson is in prison now for killing his wife because 12 citizens came to a unanimous agreement based on evidence and testimony."
