Scott Peterson Case Could Return To RWC For Retrial: Report

SAN MATEO COUNTY, CA — The California Supreme Court ordered a review of Scott Peterson’s 2004 murder conviction for the killing of his wife and unborn son Wednesday, The Los Angeles Times reports.

The court sent the case to San Mateo Superior Court for review by a trial judge to determine whether the case should be overturned.

The victory for Peterson’s lawyers in the state’s highest court is their second in less than two months. The court on Aug. 24 overturned Peterson’s death sentence, citing judicial error.

The court cited as the basis for its decision to review the case a juror's failure to disclose fearing for the life of her unborn child while being harassed by her boyfriend’s ex-girlfriend, the report said.

Richelle Nice had been seated as an alternate juror but replaced a dismissed juror, the report said.

She was among several jurors who co-authored a book about their experience.

“Juror No. 7 committed prejudicial misconduct by not disclosing her prior involvement with other legal proceedings, including but not limited to being the victim of a crime,” the court’s order said, according to the report.

A San Mateo County jury convicted Peterson in 2004 of murder for the killing of his 27-year-old wife, Laci, who was eight-months pregnant with their unborn son, Connor. He was sentenced to death in 2005.

Peterson's trial was moved from Stanislaus County to Redwood City after a survey in his home county indicated most people believed he was guilty, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Peterson was arrested in San Diego County four months after his wife's disappearance, The Modesto Bee reports.

Peterson was driving a Mercedes-Benz near Torrey Pines Golf Course in La Jolla when state Department of Justice agents pulled him over according to the report.

Within hours of Peterson's arrest former state Attorney General Bill Lockyer announced that DNA tests of the bodies found in the San Francisco Bay were identified as those of Laci and Conner Peterson, the report said.

Read more at The Los Angeles Times