Face to Face with Scott Peterson Recap for Episode 3

-The miniseries Face to Face with Scott Peterson ends with several people involved with the case talking about circumstantial evidence in the case and how it led to a guilty verdict when it was all put together.

-Scott says in a video call that he is trying and hoping for people to see the truth.

-On December 13, 2004, Scott was sentenced to death. His family would visit him and offer support, while he claimed he was living visit to visit.

-Scott’s sister-in-law Janey went to law school to help Scott and try and get him a new trial. She thinks there are enough people to help them out and get them to hear what they believe is the truth.

-Mike Gudgell talks about the verdict and coverage, saying that a verdict was made without the who, what, how, where, when and why. He is currently helping Janey prove Scott’s innocence. He calls it a ‘conspiracy of circumstances.’

-We see more footage from media coverage, which Mike thinks skewed people’s thoughts on the case. He would go on to digging into the case and trying to figure out what truly happened to Laci.

-While the Medina robbery had no connection to the case, he thinks there was a criminal network that was involved in the case and possibly Laci’s disappearance. The inconsistent timeline also had him and Janey wondering if they were involved in Laci’s disappearance after all….and if there were accomplices involved.

-There were three other people who were allegedly by the house at the time Laci disappeared and allegedly connected with the burglary. They have never been identified, nor has the van at the house ever been found.

-Mike thinks Laci witnessed something involving the burglary and she could have been killed so she would keep quiet. Scott says he agrees with this theory.

-Scott’s defense team is still working on proving his innocence and upset that the evidence presented to them was not listened to during the trial.

-Diane Jackson, a neighbor, claims she saw the three men and a van at the time Laci went missing.

-A van was burned the day after Laci’s disappearance in the same area where she lived, making Mike wonder if there was a connection.

-In 2015, Mike began his own investigation. He realized that employees in the area where the van was burned were allowed to take vehicles home. The last driver had a criminal record and was connected to one of the Medina robbers.

-Mike goes over the van evidence and talked to the man who was in charge of the fire, Bryan Spitulski.

-Bryan explains what he saw when he investigated the van, including a mattress and the gas can found. There was rust color on the mattress that was later proven to be blood. However, further testing was inconclusive and it was not investigated further. This infuriated Bryan since it could have been evidence in the case.

-Scott talks about this and thinks this evidence should be used in his appeal. Bryan agrees that DNA needs to be explored further.

-Janey and the defense team look at the evidence and try to put together a timeline to poke holes in the initial investigation. We also see archive news footage and hear about a mailman who claims that the dog always barked at him was not there and the gate was open, leading to the possibility that Laci was walking the dog when he arrived that morning. This puts holes into the theory that the dog was not running loose and put back into the yard as a neighbor had initially claimed.

-Janey and the team continue to go over evidence and tips that were brought in, while Scott says that he realizes that the ball was dropped during the investigation once he discovered several things were never followed up on.

 

-A man named Tom Harshman claims he had seen a pregnant woman being forced into a van and called in a tip, but this was never followed up on. It also leads to the question….if it wasn’t Laci, then who was she?

 

-Another tip came in from a man named Xavier Aponte late in the trial that claimed that Laci confronted the burglars, which could have led to her murder. The defense claims that they never got this information.  Prosecutors claimed the statement was recanted, but Xavier denies this.

-Scott, the defense and Janey talk about the watch Laci was wearing at the time she disappeared—a diamond one she inherited from her grandma. A pawn shop claims that a lady came in to sell the watch on New Year’s Eve 2002. It was not clear if this was Laci’s watch or what happened to it after it was to be brought into evidence.

-Scott claims he never heard anything about the watch until long after he was arrested. Prosecutors claim there was no proof it was Laci’s while the defense says this was only one of many pieces of evidence that they never saw and that this missing information can prove that Scott is innocent.

-Janey says they kept working hard to get an appeal and in 2020, he was taken off death row and given life without parole, thanks to an error in picking the jury.

-Despite this, he lost representation, which is where the LA Innocence Project came in to take on the case. Evidence is tested for DNA and Mike brings in new evidence to help prove Scott’s innocence.

-Janey believes that between this and the other evidence Scott can be proven innocent and the real killers could be found.

-The prosecution shares their evidence and why they think the jury got it right the first time and how the Laci sightings could have been wrong. They claim they looked into everything and the theories the defense came up with were false.

-The prosecution also pokes holes into the burglar theories and how while it is possible, it is improbable. They are willing to listen to new evidence but also want to see proof that Scott is innocent.

-The LA Innocence Project claims they took this case because they truly think that he is innocent. They believe the van and mattress in there is the smoking gun.

-A judge denied all DNA testing, save for a piece of duct tape found on Laci when her body was found. The defense is not happy with this turn of events.

-Both sides hope that they are victorious.

-We see more media footage and reaction from both sides.

-Janey is determined to find out the truth, free Scott and bring the real killers to justice.

-After we see more archive footage, we get Scott’s reaction to losing his family as he breaks down in tears. He maintains his innocence and has the LA Innocence Project backing him.

-Al Brocchini claims all tips were investigated and nothing was intentionally withheld in the case. The current and former DA office employees refused to comment.

-Steve Todd, one of the burglars also refused to comment. Donald Pearce, the second burglar, died October 18, 2019.

-The LA Innocence Project filed a post-trial discovery seeking evidence in the Medina burglary, the van, watch, etc. The hearing took place in July 2024 and a ruling has yet to be issued.

-Laci’s family refused to take part in this series, but Sharon Rocha (Laci’s mom) released a statement, saying that she believes Scott is guilty and this is all just a way for him to go free.