Scott Peterson Revisited - Part Two: Esther & Yolanda Reopen the Case

In Part Two of Scott Peterson Revisited, Esther is joined by her sister Yolanda to take a closer look at the claims now being made on behalf of convicted murderer Scott Peterson.

In 2024, the Los Angeles Innocence Project announced that it was investigating Peterson’s claims of actual innocence. The following year, his attorneys filed a habeas corpus petition arguing that new evidence and scientific analysis undermined key elements of the prosecution’s case. A judge rejected those claims in April 2026, but the LA Innocence Project has said it plans to appeal.

Now Esther and Yolanda reopen the case for themselves.

Together, they examine the major arguments being presented as evidence of Peterson’s innocence: the burglary across the street from the Peterson home, witnesses who claimed they saw Laci walking her dog after Scott left that morning, new theories about where Laci and Conner entered San Francisco Bay, evidence suggesting Laci may have known about Scott’s fishing boat, and questions surrounding when Conner died.

They also revisit allegations that investigators developed tunnel vision and ignored evidence that didn’t fit their theory of the crime. What actually caused detectives to focus their attention on Scott? Were other leads adequately investigated? And does the so-called “new evidence” meaningfully change the circumstantial case that led a jury to convict him?

More than two decades after Laci and Conner Peterson were murdered, Esther and Yolanda separate what’s new from what has been argued before, challenge each other’s assumptions, and ask the question at the heart of Scott Peterson’s latest bid for freedom:

Is there truly new evidence of innocence — or simply a new way of presenting an old defense?

Content warning

This episode discusses the murder of a pregnant woman and the death of an unborn child.

Links to our original episodes:

This episode revisits research originally presented in Episodes 71 and 72 of Once Upon a Crime in 2017, along with subsequent court rulings and the claims presented by the Los Angeles Innocence Project in Scott Peterson: The New Evidence.

https://www.truecrimepodcast.com/s2-ep71-the-12-crimes-of-christmas-laci-peterson-part-1/

https://www.truecrimepodcast.com/s2-ep72-the-12-crimes-of-christmas-laci-peterson-part-2/

Other resources:

People Magazine article (with photos of van, “Laci note” with handwriting comparison, etc.)

https://people.com/pieces-forensic-evidence-could-lead-scott-peterson-freedom-exclusive-12014816?hid=bc2984855ed727914fef22dff40e20764d844358&did=24648672-20260713&utm_source=ppl&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=ppl-true-crime_newsletter&utm_content=071326&lctg=bc2984855ed727914fef22dff40e20764d844358&lr_input=f39d77450fcf063cdc7d94fda7ecdf5efd39306fc49121111e7af41f018cc829&campaign=18955543

For Laci: A Mother’s Story of Love, Loss, and Justice, Sharon Rocha, Crown Publishers, 2006.

YouTube: Crime & Justice, “Scott Peterson Case: Lead Detective Dismantles “New Evidence” Claims

https://youtu.be/a5qvh_KVvW0?si=hSlZWEh6DcvzcgY_

YouTube: East Idaho News, “Homicide Detective Jon Buehler and legal analyst Beth Karas on the truth about Scott Peterson”

https://youtu.be/U8OlJsSdWxM?si=t7mRvJluYIhjv8LB

https://www.stanislaus-da.org/pdf/news/2026/press-release-05-12-2026-SPeterson.pdf?fbclid=IwY2xjawTJwBZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAwzNTA2ODU1MzE3MjgAAR573on0mjwU15IxHrPF2s_dROtgKY4mxWsO_FbqPJzGzGd_qwChWikSZPIFiw_aem_UvmC6ZEk7nqxD9jDoOFt7A

Los Angeles Innocence Project Court Filings:

Notice of Motion for DNA Testing, Jan 17, 2024

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/ev6pivmu5f34w0f4fsj4c/1405-DNA-Motion.pdf?rlkey=3a2im5v5osa1b6jxjb739b3hj&e=1&dl=0

Notice of Motion for Post-Conviction Discovery, Jan 17, 2024

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/wa5itop6v4mxgx5bdojqc/1054.9-Discovery-Motion_Redacted.pdf?rlkey=api1iepe8sw96utwe2aiy3j1x&e=1&dl=0

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