Sex, Lies and Audiotapes
One of the most common assumptions people make about the Scott Peterson case was that his inappropriate relationship with Amber Frey was his motive for murdering his wife and unborn son. That was the basic connection the public made – Scott was guilty of infidelity and therefore guilty of murder. He lied to his wife; he is lying to us.
There is no topic related to Scott’s case that we are afraid to cover, but this topic, by far, evokes the most emotion surrounding Scott’s presumed guilt. Scott’s infidelity and the recorded phone calls with Amber made him a hated man.
Do not mistake us as making excuses for Scott’s behavior. We’re not. It was a horrible thing for our family to come to grips with. Here we were in the midst of the crisis of Laci’s disappearance and to learn that Scott had been unfaithful to Laci was a devastating blow. We also learned this had happened before, Scott was weak when it came to women. We were disappointed, shocked, stunned, and disgusted. Utter disbelief.
As much as we wanted an answer for what had happened to Laci, we knew this had nothing to do with it. So the purpose of this article is to set the record straight, and that’s a difficult thing to do. Why is it difficult? Because the truth is, Scott was guilty of infidelity and he told innumerable lies. He did lie to Amber Frey, he did deceive family and police about Amber, and he did spend time on the phone with Amber after Laci went missing.
So let us walk you thru both the prosecutions arguments and the facts in the hopes you will come to the same conclusion we did. When you get to the end of the article, you’ll see that there’s plenty of evidence that Scott had been unfaithful to Laci and no evidence that it was a motive for murder or that Scott is guilty of Laci’s murder.
The prosecution’s argument rested on three claims
1-Scott was very obsessed with Amber Frey.
2-Scott’s obsession with Amber increased after Laci went missing.
3-Scott wanted freedom from his marriage.
So, are these claims true? Let’s look at the record:
CLAIM: Scott was very obsessed with Amber Frey.
FACT: Obsession is defined as, ‘dominating or preoccupying the thoughts, feelings, or desires of a person’. Obsessive behavior would include relentless calls, over-involvement, stalking, intrusiveness, and unreasonable demands upon time or person. None of these or any other obsessive behavior were ever demonstrated by Scott.
November 19th, 2002-December 23rd, 2002 - This first time frame outlines Scott’s contact with Amber prior to December 24th when Laci goes missing and will show the above fact to be true and the prosecution’s claim false.
• November 20, 2002 – Scott met Amber at the Elephant Bar in Fresno. From there, they went to have dinner at a Japanese restaurant. They spent the night together at a Fresno hotel.
During dinner, within two hours of meeting Amber, Scott told her the following lies:
-He will be fishing in Alaska for Thanksgiving with his father, brother and uncle.
-He would be in Kennebunkport, Maine with his parents for Christmas.
-He would be in Paris for New Year’s and in Europe for the month of January on business.
Scott did not clear his schedule to be with her, he was intentionally making himself unavailable in the future.
• November 21-November 24, 202 – Detective Jacobson testified there were 5 phone calls between Scott and Amber over these five days totaling 40 minutes, however Scott and Amber’s cell phone records do not confirm this. The only call that is able to be confirmed by their cell phone records is one 18 minute call from Amber to Scott on the 24th.
• November 25-December 1, 2002 – There is no contact between Amber and Scott. Scott and Laci are in Southern California for the week. Contrary to information published in For Laci , Scott was not “constantly on his cell phone” with Amber.
• December 2, 2002 Scott spent the night at Amber’s.
• December 3, 2002 Scott spent the night at Amber’s.
• December 6, 2002 Shawn Sibley had lunch with some colleagues and heard that Scott was married. Shawn called Scott and asked him whether or not he was married. Scott initially told Shawn that he was not married. About an hour later, Scott called Shawn back and told Shawn the infamous lie that he had been married but that he had lost his wife. Shawn gave Scott until Monday to tell Amber.
Scott didn’t cover his lies very well - he’d seen Amber twice, known her for only 16 days and he’s already revealed to be married. In the one hour between Scott’s calls with Shawn, he made up the lie that he’s lost his wife. This was not a premeditated lie that was part of a murder conspiracy, it was a lie he made up while backed into a corner.
• December 9, 2002 – Scott visited Amber to tell her that he had been married.
• December 11, 2002 – Scott attended a birthday party with Amber.
• December 14, 2002 – Scott attended a Christmas Party with Amber then spent the night at her house. This is the last time Scott sees Amber until she testified at his trial in 2004 .
• December 16-23, 2002 – There were 26 calls between Amber and Scott; two-thirds of which were placed by Amber. It’s mostly voicemail/phone tag. The phone usage billed averaged about 8 minutes a day.
There is no topic related to Scott’s case that we are afraid to cover, but this topic, by far, evokes the most emotion surrounding Scott’s presumed guilt. Scott’s infidelity and the recorded phone calls with Amber made him a hated man.
Do not mistake us as making excuses for Scott’s behavior. We’re not. It was a horrible thing for our family to come to grips with. Here we were in the midst of the crisis of Laci’s disappearance and to learn that Scott had been unfaithful to Laci was a devastating blow. We also learned this had happened before, Scott was weak when it came to women. We were disappointed, shocked, stunned, and disgusted. Utter disbelief.
As much as we wanted an answer for what had happened to Laci, we knew this had nothing to do with it. So the purpose of this article is to set the record straight, and that’s a difficult thing to do. Why is it difficult? Because the truth is, Scott was guilty of infidelity and he told innumerable lies. He did lie to Amber Frey, he did deceive family and police about Amber, and he did spend time on the phone with Amber after Laci went missing.
So let us walk you thru both the prosecutions arguments and the facts in the hopes you will come to the same conclusion we did. When you get to the end of the article, you’ll see that there’s plenty of evidence that Scott had been unfaithful to Laci and no evidence that it was a motive for murder or that Scott is guilty of Laci’s murder.
The prosecution’s argument rested on three claims
1-Scott was very obsessed with Amber Frey.
2-Scott’s obsession with Amber increased after Laci went missing.
3-Scott wanted freedom from his marriage.
So, are these claims true? Let’s look at the record:
CLAIM: Scott was very obsessed with Amber Frey.
FACT: Obsession is defined as, ‘dominating or preoccupying the thoughts, feelings, or desires of a person’. Obsessive behavior would include relentless calls, over-involvement, stalking, intrusiveness, and unreasonable demands upon time or person. None of these or any other obsessive behavior were ever demonstrated by Scott.
November 19th, 2002-December 23rd, 2002 - This first time frame outlines Scott’s contact with Amber prior to December 24th when Laci goes missing and will show the above fact to be true and the prosecution’s claim false.
• November 20, 2002 – Scott met Amber at the Elephant Bar in Fresno. From there, they went to have dinner at a Japanese restaurant. They spent the night together at a Fresno hotel.
During dinner, within two hours of meeting Amber, Scott told her the following lies:
-He will be fishing in Alaska for Thanksgiving with his father, brother and uncle.
-He would be in Kennebunkport, Maine with his parents for Christmas.
-He would be in Paris for New Year’s and in Europe for the month of January on business.
Scott did not clear his schedule to be with her, he was intentionally making himself unavailable in the future.
• November 21-November 24, 202 – Detective Jacobson testified there were 5 phone calls between Scott and Amber over these five days totaling 40 minutes, however Scott and Amber’s cell phone records do not confirm this. The only call that is able to be confirmed by their cell phone records is one 18 minute call from Amber to Scott on the 24th.
• November 25-December 1, 2002 – There is no contact between Amber and Scott. Scott and Laci are in Southern California for the week. Contrary to information published in For Laci , Scott was not “constantly on his cell phone” with Amber.
• December 2, 2002 Scott spent the night at Amber’s.
• December 3, 2002 Scott spent the night at Amber’s.
• December 6, 2002 Shawn Sibley had lunch with some colleagues and heard that Scott was married. Shawn called Scott and asked him whether or not he was married. Scott initially told Shawn that he was not married. About an hour later, Scott called Shawn back and told Shawn the infamous lie that he had been married but that he had lost his wife. Shawn gave Scott until Monday to tell Amber.
Scott didn’t cover his lies very well - he’d seen Amber twice, known her for only 16 days and he’s already revealed to be married. In the one hour between Scott’s calls with Shawn, he made up the lie that he’s lost his wife. This was not a premeditated lie that was part of a murder conspiracy, it was a lie he made up while backed into a corner.
• December 9, 2002 – Scott visited Amber to tell her that he had been married.
• December 11, 2002 – Scott attended a birthday party with Amber.
• December 14, 2002 – Scott attended a Christmas Party with Amber then spent the night at her house. This is the last time Scott sees Amber until she testified at his trial in 2004 .
• December 16-23, 2002 – There were 26 calls between Amber and Scott; two-thirds of which were placed by Amber. It’s mostly voicemail/phone tag. The phone usage billed averaged about 8 minutes a day.
CLAIM: Scott’s obsession with Amber increased after Laci went missing.
FACT: Scott’s contact with Amber decreased after Laci went missing. The only contact between Scott and Amber is on the phone and Scott confessed to Amber his true status as a married man and his love for Laci.
Phone calls December 24th-December 29th – During this time frame, there are no tape-recorded calls between Scott and Amber. Although Amber was suspicious about how truthful Scott had been with her, she said she was unaware that Scott was married or that Laci is missing.
Meanwhile, Scott was under the emotional duress of having no idea where his pregnant wife was. The police didn’t believe his alibi (which was true), and he feared that knowledge of his illicit relationship with Amber would be the end of the search for Laci.
He makes the decision to return Amber’s repetitive calls – hoping to keep his infidelity concealed.
• December 24, 2002 - Laci left the house to walk their dog and never returned.
• December 25, 2002 - On Christmas morning, Amber called Scott twice, then Scott returned her call. Amber called Scott two more times that day and had her friend, Doug Sibley; leave Scott a message that he should call Amber.
• December 26, 2002 – Amber called Scott five times, Scott returned her call, Amber called Scott 9 more times then Scott returned her call again.
• December 27, 2002 – Amber called Scott twice, he returned her call.
• December 28, 2002 – Amber called Scott twice, he returned her call.
• December 29, 2002 – Amber called Scott twice, he returned her call.
Over these first six days of Laci missing, Amber called Scott 29 times. Scott made 11 return calls to Amber. The average phone usage billed per day is 19 minutes. Scott did not see Amber during this time nor did he ask to see her (as portrayed in the made-for-TV movie).
Phone calls December 30th-January 6th – Things change for Amber in this next time frame. In the early morning hours of December 30, 2002, Amber found out from a friend in law enforcement that Scott was married to the missing woman from Modesto. She immediately called the Modesto police. By 11 am that morning, the police met Amber at a Radio Shack where they purchased equipment for Amber to tape her phone calls with Scott.
Amber began working with the police. Her repetitive calls to Scott are now at the request of the Modesto police as they used Amber to try and trap Scott. They hoped she could elicit a confession or any information that would help them pin Laci’s disappearance on him.
While listening to the recordings in the courtroom, you had to remind yourself that Amber knew she was being taped. Juror John Guinasso didn’t remember to do that. He stated disappointment in Amber in the jury’s book We the Jury , “ I think there were enough clues in the Amber tapes that should have rung a bell in her head that he was married. I think she denied the obvious to pursue this lustful relationship .”
The problem is that, in the tapes the jury heard, Amber did know Scott was married she was only pretending she didn’t. This juror thought he was listening to two people who didn’t know they were being recorded. But Amber knew; she made the tapes. Juror Guinasso went on to state in the book, “These tapes were the sole factor, in my opinion, in putting Scott Peterson to death.”
The content and frequency of the calls would not have existed if not for the Modesto police. And their content and frequency led the jury to conclude the Scott was continuing to initiate contact and pursue Amber. In short, Guinasso voted to put Scott to death based on conclusions made in error.
Up through January 6th, Scott continued to keep up the lies he told her within a few hours of meeting her - he’s traveling to Maine, Alaska, Europe, etc. Outlined below are some facts from this time period.
• December 30, 2002 – Amber initiated a series of 5 phone calls, 12 minutes total.
• December 31, 2002 – 6 calls, 15 minutes total. The last of which was at 4:20pm, ten minutes before a New Year’s Eve vigil for Laci was to start. The police and Amber both knew there was a vigil. She called him at 3 pm and he returned her call, maintaining his lie that he was out of the country by wishing Amber a Happy New Year from Paris. Despite what was widely reported, Scott was not on the phone with Amber during the vigil for Laci.
• January 1, 2003 – 2 calls, 87 minutes total (all after 10pm when the search for Laci had ended for the day). This is the first conversation of length takes place since Laci’s abduction and Amber goes straight to work for the police. She asked Scott what his New Year’s resolutions were; she prompted him to ask her what she’s wearing; she asked him to write her; asked him about his feelings for her and what he wanted to do for her birthday and Valentine’s Day. She was doing what she’d been told; keep him on the phone and keep him talking.
At one point during this call, Scott told Amber he had reservations about any future they might have. Maybe this is one of those moments Juror Guinasso was talking about – a clue that should have let Amber know Scott was not committed. But remember, Amber wasn’t listening for clues that Scott wasn’t committed, she already knew he wasn’t.
• January 2, 2003 – Five calls, starting with Amber, 32 minutes total. All after 10pm.
• January 3, 2003 – Three calls, six minutes total. All after 11 pm
• January 4, 2003 – Five calls, starting with Amber, 69 minutes total. 64 minutes after 10pm
• January 5, 2003 – Three calls, one by Scott, two by Amber. All went to voicemail.
Phone calls January 6th-February 19th - Things changed again on January 6th. Amber came to the Modesto Police Station. The police wanted to up the ante, so Amber was being coached to see if they could get Scott to admit he was the husband of the missing Laci Peterson. It works: Scott admitted to Amber that he’s married and that his pregnant wife is missing. Scott was still unaware that he’s being recorded and had no knowledge that Amber was working with the police.
FACT: Scott’s contact with Amber decreased after Laci went missing. The only contact between Scott and Amber is on the phone and Scott confessed to Amber his true status as a married man and his love for Laci.
Phone calls December 24th-December 29th – During this time frame, there are no tape-recorded calls between Scott and Amber. Although Amber was suspicious about how truthful Scott had been with her, she said she was unaware that Scott was married or that Laci is missing.
Meanwhile, Scott was under the emotional duress of having no idea where his pregnant wife was. The police didn’t believe his alibi (which was true), and he feared that knowledge of his illicit relationship with Amber would be the end of the search for Laci.
He makes the decision to return Amber’s repetitive calls – hoping to keep his infidelity concealed.
• December 24, 2002 - Laci left the house to walk their dog and never returned.
• December 25, 2002 - On Christmas morning, Amber called Scott twice, then Scott returned her call. Amber called Scott two more times that day and had her friend, Doug Sibley; leave Scott a message that he should call Amber.
• December 26, 2002 – Amber called Scott five times, Scott returned her call, Amber called Scott 9 more times then Scott returned her call again.
• December 27, 2002 – Amber called Scott twice, he returned her call.
• December 28, 2002 – Amber called Scott twice, he returned her call.
• December 29, 2002 – Amber called Scott twice, he returned her call.
Over these first six days of Laci missing, Amber called Scott 29 times. Scott made 11 return calls to Amber. The average phone usage billed per day is 19 minutes. Scott did not see Amber during this time nor did he ask to see her (as portrayed in the made-for-TV movie).
Phone calls December 30th-January 6th – Things change for Amber in this next time frame. In the early morning hours of December 30, 2002, Amber found out from a friend in law enforcement that Scott was married to the missing woman from Modesto. She immediately called the Modesto police. By 11 am that morning, the police met Amber at a Radio Shack where they purchased equipment for Amber to tape her phone calls with Scott.
Amber began working with the police. Her repetitive calls to Scott are now at the request of the Modesto police as they used Amber to try and trap Scott. They hoped she could elicit a confession or any information that would help them pin Laci’s disappearance on him.
While listening to the recordings in the courtroom, you had to remind yourself that Amber knew she was being taped. Juror John Guinasso didn’t remember to do that. He stated disappointment in Amber in the jury’s book We the Jury , “ I think there were enough clues in the Amber tapes that should have rung a bell in her head that he was married. I think she denied the obvious to pursue this lustful relationship .”
The problem is that, in the tapes the jury heard, Amber did know Scott was married she was only pretending she didn’t. This juror thought he was listening to two people who didn’t know they were being recorded. But Amber knew; she made the tapes. Juror Guinasso went on to state in the book, “These tapes were the sole factor, in my opinion, in putting Scott Peterson to death.”
The content and frequency of the calls would not have existed if not for the Modesto police. And their content and frequency led the jury to conclude the Scott was continuing to initiate contact and pursue Amber. In short, Guinasso voted to put Scott to death based on conclusions made in error.
Up through January 6th, Scott continued to keep up the lies he told her within a few hours of meeting her - he’s traveling to Maine, Alaska, Europe, etc. Outlined below are some facts from this time period.
• December 30, 2002 – Amber initiated a series of 5 phone calls, 12 minutes total.
• December 31, 2002 – 6 calls, 15 minutes total. The last of which was at 4:20pm, ten minutes before a New Year’s Eve vigil for Laci was to start. The police and Amber both knew there was a vigil. She called him at 3 pm and he returned her call, maintaining his lie that he was out of the country by wishing Amber a Happy New Year from Paris. Despite what was widely reported, Scott was not on the phone with Amber during the vigil for Laci.
• January 1, 2003 – 2 calls, 87 minutes total (all after 10pm when the search for Laci had ended for the day). This is the first conversation of length takes place since Laci’s abduction and Amber goes straight to work for the police. She asked Scott what his New Year’s resolutions were; she prompted him to ask her what she’s wearing; she asked him to write her; asked him about his feelings for her and what he wanted to do for her birthday and Valentine’s Day. She was doing what she’d been told; keep him on the phone and keep him talking.
At one point during this call, Scott told Amber he had reservations about any future they might have. Maybe this is one of those moments Juror Guinasso was talking about – a clue that should have let Amber know Scott was not committed. But remember, Amber wasn’t listening for clues that Scott wasn’t committed, she already knew he wasn’t.
• January 2, 2003 – Five calls, starting with Amber, 32 minutes total. All after 10pm.
• January 3, 2003 – Three calls, six minutes total. All after 11 pm
• January 4, 2003 – Five calls, starting with Amber, 69 minutes total. 64 minutes after 10pm
• January 5, 2003 – Three calls, one by Scott, two by Amber. All went to voicemail.
Phone calls January 6th-February 19th - Things changed again on January 6th. Amber came to the Modesto Police Station. The police wanted to up the ante, so Amber was being coached to see if they could get Scott to admit he was the husband of the missing Laci Peterson. It works: Scott admitted to Amber that he’s married and that his pregnant wife is missing. Scott was still unaware that he’s being recorded and had no knowledge that Amber was working with the police.
Scott confessed to Amber most of the lies he had told her, he spent a lot of time apologizing and answered a lot of questions about Laci and the effort to bring her home. Scott repeatedly expressed hope in finding Laci and expressed his frustration with the media and police. Following are some excerpts from these phone calls.
• January 6, 2003 - Scott said about Laci, “God, I hope she is found alive”, “I’m going to find her”, “I would hope that you know me well enough, as does, you know, our families who know that there is no possible way I could have had anything to do with this”, “There is a lot of reports of people who are at least thinking they saw her in the park and walking the street. I do not know where she is. I wish I did. I love Laci. I loved Laci, no question.” This day ended with Amber asking Scott not to call her, and he agreed.
• January 7, 2003 – Amber called Scott. She asked him many questions about Laci’s disappearance, what they’re doing to find her and she also questioned Scott about everything he’d told her since they first met in November. I don’t think anyone would argue that Scott had some explaining to do to Amber.
• January 8, 2003 – Scott said to Amber, “ I hope that you are not involved to any degree ” (with Laci’s disappearance.) In this call Amber asked Scott what he would do if she went to the police. Scott responded by telling her, “ If you want to go to the police that’s, you know, fine. You need to do what’s right for you. And I’m not afraid of it. ” Once again, Scott told Amber that he loves Laci.
• January 15, 2003 – The Modesto Police told Laci’s family that Scott had been having an affair. The media became aware of Scott’s infidelity and began to look for the woman as they didn’t have Amber’s name.
• January 24, 2003 – The Modesto Police held a press conference in which Amber announced that she had been in a romantic relationship with Scott.
From this point on, Scott and Amber had a sort of media empathy for each other. They were both being incessantly pursued by the media and had both become regulars on the cover of the National Enquirer. He would apologize for her having to deal with the media and the additional stresses and expenses the whole situation had caused her.
Scott’s entire support system had all but crumbled. Laci’s family and friends believed him to be responsible for Laci’s disappearance once his infidelity was revealed, his home was burglarized, his customers began distancing themselves from him, the media was showing him in slow motion with Jaws music in the background, radio shock jocks had camped out in front of his house with bullhorns, calling him a murderer, he was constantly being followed and called by the media, and there were far less people to help to look for his wife and son. The police had even offered him a deal: “ Tell us where Laci’s body is and we won’t seek the death penalty.”
• January 27, 2003 – Scott taped an interview with Diane Sawyer in an attempt to explain his behavior and revive the public search for his missing wife and unborn son.
Another misconception perpetuated by the prosecution is that Scott told Diane Sawyer in this interview that Laci “was okay with” the idea that he was unfaithful. Scott told Diane Sawyer that he had told Laci about Amber in early December. He went on to say that Laci was not okay with it, but that it was nothing that would break them up. His exact words were, “you know, I can’t say that even, you know, she was OK with the idea, but it wasn’t – it wasn’t anything that would break us apart.”
It’s hard to go back and piece together where misquoting Scott on this topic started, but the prosecution got the quote wrong in a pre-trial motion. Using this misquote to call Scott a liar, because, of course, what wife would be okay with infidelity? This mistruth was then repeated countless times by media sources and pundits, “This guy’s such a liar he expects us all to believe his pregnant wife is okay with him having an affair!”
Here’s a situation where the prosecution and the media had full access to his actual words on video and they take the last half of his sentence, “she was OK with the idea” and use it against him and call him the liar. We aren’t saying Scott never lied about his infidelity; infidelity and lying tend to go hand in hand. Scott told many lies to Amber and Laci. We make no excuses for these lies, but they are adultery lies not murder lies. This is a situation where the prosecution and media are lying and then accusing someone of murder.
• February 4, 2003 – Amber told Scott she’s going to send him a copy of The Purpose Driven Life to read for the next 40 days, she asked him to make notes in it and send it back to her. Through the course of the phone calls, Amber shared elements of her faith with Scott and she suggested this book might be able to help him.
• February 7, 2003 – At this point, Amber was one of the only people still talking to Scott. This was the only day Scott asked to see Amber. She declined.
• February 19, 2003 – Amber called Scott and told him they shouldn’t speak anymore. Scott agreed. This was their last phone call.
• April 18, 2003 – The remains of Laci and Conner were identified and Scott was arrested for the murder of Laci and Conner.
• January 6, 2003 - Scott said about Laci, “God, I hope she is found alive”, “I’m going to find her”, “I would hope that you know me well enough, as does, you know, our families who know that there is no possible way I could have had anything to do with this”, “There is a lot of reports of people who are at least thinking they saw her in the park and walking the street. I do not know where she is. I wish I did. I love Laci. I loved Laci, no question.” This day ended with Amber asking Scott not to call her, and he agreed.
• January 7, 2003 – Amber called Scott. She asked him many questions about Laci’s disappearance, what they’re doing to find her and she also questioned Scott about everything he’d told her since they first met in November. I don’t think anyone would argue that Scott had some explaining to do to Amber.
• January 8, 2003 – Scott said to Amber, “ I hope that you are not involved to any degree ” (with Laci’s disappearance.) In this call Amber asked Scott what he would do if she went to the police. Scott responded by telling her, “ If you want to go to the police that’s, you know, fine. You need to do what’s right for you. And I’m not afraid of it. ” Once again, Scott told Amber that he loves Laci.
• January 15, 2003 – The Modesto Police told Laci’s family that Scott had been having an affair. The media became aware of Scott’s infidelity and began to look for the woman as they didn’t have Amber’s name.
• January 24, 2003 – The Modesto Police held a press conference in which Amber announced that she had been in a romantic relationship with Scott.
From this point on, Scott and Amber had a sort of media empathy for each other. They were both being incessantly pursued by the media and had both become regulars on the cover of the National Enquirer. He would apologize for her having to deal with the media and the additional stresses and expenses the whole situation had caused her.
Scott’s entire support system had all but crumbled. Laci’s family and friends believed him to be responsible for Laci’s disappearance once his infidelity was revealed, his home was burglarized, his customers began distancing themselves from him, the media was showing him in slow motion with Jaws music in the background, radio shock jocks had camped out in front of his house with bullhorns, calling him a murderer, he was constantly being followed and called by the media, and there were far less people to help to look for his wife and son. The police had even offered him a deal: “ Tell us where Laci’s body is and we won’t seek the death penalty.”
• January 27, 2003 – Scott taped an interview with Diane Sawyer in an attempt to explain his behavior and revive the public search for his missing wife and unborn son.
Another misconception perpetuated by the prosecution is that Scott told Diane Sawyer in this interview that Laci “was okay with” the idea that he was unfaithful. Scott told Diane Sawyer that he had told Laci about Amber in early December. He went on to say that Laci was not okay with it, but that it was nothing that would break them up. His exact words were, “you know, I can’t say that even, you know, she was OK with the idea, but it wasn’t – it wasn’t anything that would break us apart.”
It’s hard to go back and piece together where misquoting Scott on this topic started, but the prosecution got the quote wrong in a pre-trial motion. Using this misquote to call Scott a liar, because, of course, what wife would be okay with infidelity? This mistruth was then repeated countless times by media sources and pundits, “This guy’s such a liar he expects us all to believe his pregnant wife is okay with him having an affair!”
Here’s a situation where the prosecution and the media had full access to his actual words on video and they take the last half of his sentence, “she was OK with the idea” and use it against him and call him the liar. We aren’t saying Scott never lied about his infidelity; infidelity and lying tend to go hand in hand. Scott told many lies to Amber and Laci. We make no excuses for these lies, but they are adultery lies not murder lies. This is a situation where the prosecution and media are lying and then accusing someone of murder.
• February 4, 2003 – Amber told Scott she’s going to send him a copy of The Purpose Driven Life to read for the next 40 days, she asked him to make notes in it and send it back to her. Through the course of the phone calls, Amber shared elements of her faith with Scott and she suggested this book might be able to help him.
• February 7, 2003 – At this point, Amber was one of the only people still talking to Scott. This was the only day Scott asked to see Amber. She declined.
• February 19, 2003 – Amber called Scott and told him they shouldn’t speak anymore. Scott agreed. This was their last phone call.
• April 18, 2003 – The remains of Laci and Conner were identified and Scott was arrested for the murder of Laci and Conner.
CLAIM: Scott wanted freedom from responsibility as demonstrated by the fantasy life he portrayed to Amber.
In their closing argument, the prosecution argued that Scott wanted freedom:
“Scott Peterson created a fantasy life for himself. Scott Peterson, in his fantasy world he was rich, he was successful, he had a beautiful girlfriend, he was a jet setter. Remember, vacations in Kennebunkport, fishing in Alaska, jetting off to Europe…Amber Frey represented to him freedom. Freedom is what he wanted…freedom from responsibility.”
FACT: Scott lied to Amber about his availability and whereabouts, but he was not creating a fantasy life. Scott was using details of the life he already had.
• In 2002, Scott travelled for work to Cairo in February, Belgium in June, and southern Spain in October.
• Also in 2002, he and Laci traveled to Hawaii in May, San Diego in November, and Carmel in December.
• Scott and Laci honeymooned in Tahiti and had been to Mexico and British Columbia.
• Scott had been hunting in Alaska with his dad, brothers and uncle and had gone on several weekend hunting and fishing trips with his dad and brothers in California. His parents had gone on extended vacations to Kennebunk, Maine.
• Laci had recently travelled abroad to Italy for a short term cooking school.
• Scott and Laci had just joined the Del Rio Country Club in December of 2002, Scott was due to get a raise in early 2003 and court testimony and evidence showed they were living within their means.
The prosecution called these things ‘fantasy’, so in short, Scott and Laci’s life together was a ‘fantasy life’ and was only going to get better with the arrival of their baby.
In Conclusion
The prosecution arguments were never supported by the facts:
• Scott never exhibited any signs of being obsessed with Amber before or after Laci went missing. Amber’s own testimony and the court records showed Scott’s behavior as nothing more than typical extra-marital hook-up behavior.
• The majority of contact between Scott and Amber was initiated by Amber.
• Scott never pursued Amber, carried on with her, or saw her after Laci went missing. His constant pursuit was finding Laci and Conner, as evidenced by court testimony, police surveillance and the wiretaps.
• Per Amber’s testimony in court, Scott never told her he loved her.
• The argument that Scott wanted freedom to pursue a better life doesn’t stand up. What the prosecution described as Scott’s ‘fantasies’ were already part of his life.
The prosecution itself acknowledged that Amber was not a motive in their closing argument:
“…am I standing up here telling you that Scott Peterson killed his wife to go off and marry Amber Frey? You know he was very obsessed with her and lusted after her, and I'm going to show you a number of examples of that. I don't think he killed Laci Peterson to go marry Amber Frey though...”
Not only were Scott’s calls with Amber recorded, but all Scott’s calls were intercepted via wiretap. Over 3,000 wiretapped phone calls were intercepted over two months. Scott was even being recorded while outgoing calls were ringing and while he was listening to his messages.
In all Scott’s calls with media, family, friends, and the police there are no admissions, confessions or evidence. In over two months of phone calls you never once have Scott losing his temper or raising his voice with anyone, you never hear him panic about the pressure the police are putting on him, and you never hear him bring up his well-being. His concern was always for Laci.
Scott’s defense attorney, Mark Geragos, described the public revelation of Amber Frey as the prism that changed everything. Laci’s family and friends ended their strong public support of Scott once his infidelity was revealed.
Mark Geragos said in his opening statement, “He’s charged with two counts of murder. He’s not charged with abuse of Amber Frey. He’s not charged with having an affair… Clearly if you want to call him a cad, you want to say his behavior is boorish; we’re not going to dispute that. But the fact of the matter is, is that this is a murder case and there has to be evidence of murder.”
Amber Frey was the star witness for the prosecution. The media frenzy was so great that TV cameras were allowed in the hallway of the courthouse when she testified to get photographs of her descending the escalator.
In the end, all she testified to were three and a half weeks of sordid sex details and phone calls prodded by the police. Scott had left quite the trail of adulterous evidence, but he was in the courtroom being tried for double murder, and the primary witness did not offer one piece of evidence or motive for murder. The clumsy trail of evidence tells the sad story of a self-absorbed, deceptive and unfaithful husband but there is not one piece of evidence that speaks to murder.
The only reason the prosecution put so much emphasis on Amber’s testimony is because they had absolutely nothing else to bring into the courtroom. If they had any type of forensic evidence, a history of violence, motive, or eyewitnesses, they would not have needed Amber Frey to testify.
But that wasn’t the case, so they used Amber to make the jury hate Scott.
After the trial, the distortions of the facts about Amber continued to warp the public view of Scott as a monster. A couple months after the end of Scott’s trial, Amber Frey appeared on The Oprah Show to promote her book. The show ended with the jaw dropping statement that when Scott was arrested, he had a dagger in his car and directions to Amber’s office; insinuating that Scott may very well have been on his way to murder Amber if the police hadn’t arrested him.
It had already come to light during the trial that the dagger belonged to the previous owner of the car. It was concealed from view between the driver seat and door, and had not been removed from the car when it was sold to Scott just six days before his arrest.
Sitting on the passenger seat of the car, was the address (not directions) to Amber’s office. And with it, the book, The Purpose Driven Life , that Amber had sent Scott. As Amber had requested, he was going to mail back her book.
But that’s not the kind of thing that makes for very good publicity.
In their closing argument, the prosecution argued that Scott wanted freedom:
“Scott Peterson created a fantasy life for himself. Scott Peterson, in his fantasy world he was rich, he was successful, he had a beautiful girlfriend, he was a jet setter. Remember, vacations in Kennebunkport, fishing in Alaska, jetting off to Europe…Amber Frey represented to him freedom. Freedom is what he wanted…freedom from responsibility.”
FACT: Scott lied to Amber about his availability and whereabouts, but he was not creating a fantasy life. Scott was using details of the life he already had.
• In 2002, Scott travelled for work to Cairo in February, Belgium in June, and southern Spain in October.
• Also in 2002, he and Laci traveled to Hawaii in May, San Diego in November, and Carmel in December.
• Scott and Laci honeymooned in Tahiti and had been to Mexico and British Columbia.
• Scott had been hunting in Alaska with his dad, brothers and uncle and had gone on several weekend hunting and fishing trips with his dad and brothers in California. His parents had gone on extended vacations to Kennebunk, Maine.
• Laci had recently travelled abroad to Italy for a short term cooking school.
• Scott and Laci had just joined the Del Rio Country Club in December of 2002, Scott was due to get a raise in early 2003 and court testimony and evidence showed they were living within their means.
The prosecution called these things ‘fantasy’, so in short, Scott and Laci’s life together was a ‘fantasy life’ and was only going to get better with the arrival of their baby.
In Conclusion
The prosecution arguments were never supported by the facts:
• Scott never exhibited any signs of being obsessed with Amber before or after Laci went missing. Amber’s own testimony and the court records showed Scott’s behavior as nothing more than typical extra-marital hook-up behavior.
• The majority of contact between Scott and Amber was initiated by Amber.
• Scott never pursued Amber, carried on with her, or saw her after Laci went missing. His constant pursuit was finding Laci and Conner, as evidenced by court testimony, police surveillance and the wiretaps.
• Per Amber’s testimony in court, Scott never told her he loved her.
• The argument that Scott wanted freedom to pursue a better life doesn’t stand up. What the prosecution described as Scott’s ‘fantasies’ were already part of his life.
The prosecution itself acknowledged that Amber was not a motive in their closing argument:
“…am I standing up here telling you that Scott Peterson killed his wife to go off and marry Amber Frey? You know he was very obsessed with her and lusted after her, and I'm going to show you a number of examples of that. I don't think he killed Laci Peterson to go marry Amber Frey though...”
Not only were Scott’s calls with Amber recorded, but all Scott’s calls were intercepted via wiretap. Over 3,000 wiretapped phone calls were intercepted over two months. Scott was even being recorded while outgoing calls were ringing and while he was listening to his messages.
In all Scott’s calls with media, family, friends, and the police there are no admissions, confessions or evidence. In over two months of phone calls you never once have Scott losing his temper or raising his voice with anyone, you never hear him panic about the pressure the police are putting on him, and you never hear him bring up his well-being. His concern was always for Laci.
Scott’s defense attorney, Mark Geragos, described the public revelation of Amber Frey as the prism that changed everything. Laci’s family and friends ended their strong public support of Scott once his infidelity was revealed.
Mark Geragos said in his opening statement, “He’s charged with two counts of murder. He’s not charged with abuse of Amber Frey. He’s not charged with having an affair… Clearly if you want to call him a cad, you want to say his behavior is boorish; we’re not going to dispute that. But the fact of the matter is, is that this is a murder case and there has to be evidence of murder.”
Amber Frey was the star witness for the prosecution. The media frenzy was so great that TV cameras were allowed in the hallway of the courthouse when she testified to get photographs of her descending the escalator.
In the end, all she testified to were three and a half weeks of sordid sex details and phone calls prodded by the police. Scott had left quite the trail of adulterous evidence, but he was in the courtroom being tried for double murder, and the primary witness did not offer one piece of evidence or motive for murder. The clumsy trail of evidence tells the sad story of a self-absorbed, deceptive and unfaithful husband but there is not one piece of evidence that speaks to murder.
The only reason the prosecution put so much emphasis on Amber’s testimony is because they had absolutely nothing else to bring into the courtroom. If they had any type of forensic evidence, a history of violence, motive, or eyewitnesses, they would not have needed Amber Frey to testify.
But that wasn’t the case, so they used Amber to make the jury hate Scott.
After the trial, the distortions of the facts about Amber continued to warp the public view of Scott as a monster. A couple months after the end of Scott’s trial, Amber Frey appeared on The Oprah Show to promote her book. The show ended with the jaw dropping statement that when Scott was arrested, he had a dagger in his car and directions to Amber’s office; insinuating that Scott may very well have been on his way to murder Amber if the police hadn’t arrested him.
It had already come to light during the trial that the dagger belonged to the previous owner of the car. It was concealed from view between the driver seat and door, and had not been removed from the car when it was sold to Scott just six days before his arrest.
Sitting on the passenger seat of the car, was the address (not directions) to Amber’s office. And with it, the book, The Purpose Driven Life , that Amber had sent Scott. As Amber had requested, he was going to mail back her book.
But that’s not the kind of thing that makes for very good publicity.