Summary
At eight months pregnant, Laci Peterson went missing, and the search ended in tragedy. American Murder: Laci Peterson showcases the investigation behind one of America’s most infamous true crime cases.
From disappearance to murder. At eight months pregnant, Laci Peterson vanished, causing an extensive search that ended in tragedy. Across three episodes, American Murder: Laci Peterson deeply looks into the 2002 murder case. Through courtroom camera and interrogation footage, news clips, and exclusive interviews this Netflix docuseries sheds light on one of America’s most infamous true-crime cases
American Murder: Laci Peterson delves straight in, with exclusive interviews with Laci’s mother, who shares memories of her daughter, and hopes re-telling this story will help women in similar situations get the help they need. Through interviews with Laci’s friends, we learn a lot about her, who she was, and how her story ended up on the news night after night, drawing national attention.
There are also interviews with lawyers, detectives, reporters, and jurors recounting their experiences in real-time, showing how the case was built and how they pieced Laci’s tragedy together.
What happened to Laci is unimaginable. After weeks of searching, dog walkers found the decomposing body of Laci’s unborn son in a marshy area of a San Francisco Bay shore park. Laci’s body was found a mile away, a day later, washed up on the rocky shoreline. The body was unrecognizable, missing its head, arms, and most of the legs.
The first person they wanted to rule out was her husband, Scott. There’s footage of Scott being interrogated, looking eerily calm and comfortable. Scott is presented as a charming man who love-bombed both Laci and Amber — his girlfriend he was leading a double life with. All the footage of Scott makes him seem collected and confident, coming across as disconnected and disingenuous, especially when he had a car packed, and ready to go, which included $15,000 and his brother’s ID.
The series suggests that Scott is guilty from the beginning, and might feel heavily one-sided in the first two episodes. Scott’s sister is in the documentary, giving small counter-arguments and claiming his innocence, but her sections are few and far between.
American Murder: Laci Peterson | Image via Netflix
In the final episode, when the trial begins, one hot-shot lawyer comes to defend Scott, providing a balanced look. And due to the media being heavily involved in this case, did Scott get a fair trial? The media made this case a frenzy, and the audience is given a glimpse into how the mass media can affect a case. With everyone hearing about it, can a judge and jury be truly impartial?
One of the most interesting aspects is interviews featuring Amber Frey, the woman with whom Scott was living a double life at the time of Laci’s disappearance. We learn how Amber and Scott met, and how she felt about Scott before and after the disappearance of his wife. Amber quickly realised Scott was a liar, and helped the police by still engaging with him and recording their conversations, trying to get a confession.
There’s a giant list of circumstantial evidence tying Scott to the murders and this is the most aggravating part of any true crime case, as they need the body to finalize the case against him. In these sections of American Murder, you get an in-depth look into investigations; their processes, challenges, and obstacles.
Law enforcement eventually prosecuted Scott Peterson for Laci’s brutal murder — as well as the killing of their unborn son. He was found guilty of both first and second-degree murder but insists he is innocent to this day. Scott was sentenced to death, but this was overturned in 2020. The following year, he was re-sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
As true crime documentaries go, American Murder: Laci Peterson is gripping and grievous. Even though it’s a tragic story, the ending gives a slight ray of hope. Her family, friends, and people involved in this case remember Laci for the wonderful person she was and find comfort in her killer being in prison for life.
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