Explore More

A Scott Peterson juror said the killer’s renewed effort to blame his wife’s killing on nearby burglars has already been discredited.

In 2004, Mike Belmessieri and 11 other jurors found Scott Peterson guilty of murdering his then 8-month-pregnant wife, Laci Peterson.

During the initial trial, Scott Peterson’s attorney Mark Geragos claimed a burglary near the couple’s Modesto residence around the time of Laci Peterson’s disappearance may have been connected to her death, Belmessieri told NewsNation.

Scott Peterson’s attorneys are now requesting items from the burglary investigation to help exonerate the convicted killer, according to reports, but Belmessieri said cops who worked on the 2002 break-in case found no connection between the two crimes.

“The Modesto [Police Department] had investigated that issue and cleared those individuals who were involved in that burglary,” Belmessieri told NewsNation’s Chris Cuomo.

Juror Mike Belmessieri and 11 others found Scott Peterson guilty of murdering his wife and unborn son. IMDB

The Los Angeles Innocence Project, which gives pro bono legal help to convicts, announced this week they were taking up Peterson’s case.

In a story that gripped the world, Laci Peterson disappeared on Christmas Eve 2002.

Scott Peterson told investigators he had gone to Berkeley Marina to go fishing the morning of her disappearance.

Police discovered her body and their unborn child’s months later along the San Francisco Bay.

Laci Peterson disappeared on Christmas Eve 2002. AP

Scott Peterson, who began an affair with massage therapist Amber Frey a month before his wife disappeared, pleaded not guilty to murder and insists he was wrongly convicted.

The 51-year-old, whose original death sentence was overturned, is serving a life sentence. 

Along with evidence recovered from the burglarized home, Peterson’s attorneys are requesting various items they couldn’t find in his trial files, including a missing watch that Laci Peterson wore, items from a van that was set ablaze in Modesto the day after she disappeared, and documents connected to witness interviews, according to reports.

Scott Peterson pleaded not guilty to the murder charges and has maintained his innocence in his wife’s death. Getty Images

LAIP has also filed a motion requesting DNA testing of evidence from the original trial, NBC4 reported.

Belmessieri said he was “glad” LAIP was taking up Peterson’s case.

“If there’s new evidence that suggests he’s innocent, then he’s innocent,” the former juror said. 

ncG1vNJzZmimqaW8tMCNnKamZ2Jlf3V7j2pma2hfo7K4v46jrKunomKzs7vMZqqcp6SperGx056prKeeYrq2vsOeqWasop6urXnSmrCsZZOkvbR50a6jnpxdpMK1ecGuqaCkkafGbrjIp6Jo