The judge in the Scott Peterson murder case allowed only one new piece of evidence to undergo a new round of DNA testing.
Peterson, 51, is serving a life sentence after being found guilty of murdering his pregnant wife, Laci, and unborn son, Connor, in 2002.
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He has been incarcerated at Mule Creek State Prison since his 2004 conviction and is now working with the Los Angeles Innocence Project, which has new DNA evidence that they say will supposedly free him.
The nonprofit represents people who may have been wrongfully convicted and sent to prison.
It works to find new and undiscovered details, including DNA evidence that can help prove someone’s innocence.
The organization took over the case in January and requested that more than a dozen pieces of evidence from the original investigation needed new DNA testing.
One of the new pieces of evidence included a possibly bloody mattress that was found inside a burned-out van near the Peterson home.
On Wednesday, the judge ruled that a single piece of duct tape, measuring 15.5 centimeters long, found in Laci’s pants at the time of her autopsy will be tested for DNA, according to CBS News.
The defense argued that the tape may contain DNA that could point to a person involved in Laci’s murder in addition to Peterson.
However, the remaining evidence presented by Peterson’s lawyers was denied for further DNA testing.
Prosecutors argued the tests by telling the court that the evidence had already been tested in 2019, but the defense concluded that the limited tests were inconclusive and needed to be conducted again.
Peterson’s lawyers continued to insist that the dirty mattress had “presumably positive blood stains,” but “only a small portion of the mattress fabric was tested for DNA,” the lawyers alleged in court documents, according to CBS News.
They argued that the tests were “insufficient to determine whether Laci and/or Conner’s DNA was present.”
However, the judge ruled that 2019 tests showed there were no traces of blood on the mattress, according to NBC News.
The judge also agreed with the prosecution, which argued that the van was not related to the case and that the defense was unable to prove that it was.
Additionally, the defense failed to prove that other items found near where Laci’s body washed ashore were directly associated with her and Connor, according to the judge, reported by NBC News.
TIMELINE OF PETERSON LEGAL PROCEEDINGS
Laci Peterson disappeared on December 23, 2002, while walking her dog and the search for her began.
Peterson’s lawyers wanted a glove and hammer found at a neighbor’s home to be tested for DNA.
However, the judge said the items were never in police custody and did not qualify for retesting.
MURDER OF LACI AND CONNOR
Laci was 27 years old and eight months pregnant when she disappeared from her home in Modesto, California – about 90 miles east of San Francisco – on Christmas Eve 2002.
In April 2003, two bodies washed ashore in San Francisco Bay.
Connor’s body was found on April 13 and Laci’s was found on April 14, according to CNN.
Peterson was found guilty after prosecutors argued that he dumped Laci’s body at the Berkeley Marina on Christmas Eve.
Prosecutors alleged that Peterson’s motive for the murders was to escape the responsibilities of married life and impending fatherhood, according to CNN.
He then tried to cover up her death by making it appear she had disappeared, a jury of prosecutors heard.
Only parts of Laci’s body were found, including her torso, arms that were missing from the elbow, down, a leg that was missing from the knee down, and a leg that was missing a foot, TV Court reported in 2022.
Her head was never found and all of her organs were missing except for part of her uterus, according to the report.
The next hearing is scheduled for July 1 to discuss the next steps in the testing process.
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