'I was staggered by it': Scott Peterson says he had 'no idea' he would be found guilty of murdering his wife and their unborn son as he protests his innocence from death row

  • Scott Peterson, now 44, is still on death row in San Quentin, California 
  • In a phone call with his sister-in-law in June, he said he was 'staggered' by his 2004 conviction  
  • He was jailed in 2005 for murdering his wife Laci who was eight months pregnant
  • Laci went missing on Christmas Eve in 2002 after vanishing from their home
  • Her body and the body of their unborn son washed up months later in San Francisco 
  • Scott was having an affair with a masseuse at the time of his wife's killing
  • The call was released in promos for a new documentary series into Laci's murder 

By Jennifer Smith For Dailymail.com

Published: 17:33 EST, 8 August 2017 | Updated: 19:43 EST, 8 August 2017

Scott Peterson (pictured on the day he was found guilty in 2005) said he was 'staggered' by the verdict

Scott Peterson (pictured on the day he was found guilty in 2005) said he was 'staggered' by the verdict

Scott Peterson has revealed he was 'staggered' to have been found guilty of murdering his wife Laci and their unborn son Conner, 12 years after being sentenced to death for killing them.

In a June phone call with his sister-in-law Janey - Laci's sister -  from San Quentin Prison in California, Peterson, 44,  said he had 'no idea' what the jury had in store for him when they returned their verdict at the end of his highly publicized murder trial.

The phone call was obtained by A&E for its new documentary series The Murder of Laci Peterson and was published by People on Tuesday. 

Laci was reported missing on Christmas Eve, 2002, when she was eight months pregnant. 

Her husband led the search for her for months but was arrested for murder after her badly decomposing body and the body of their unborn son washed up on a San Francisco Shoreline in April 2003. 

Scott, who had been having an affair with a masseuse before his wife's disappearance and who carried it on afterwards, was found guilty of killing them in 2004 and was sentenced to death the following year. 

He remains on death row and is appealing his conviction.  

In his phone call with Janey, Scott recalled ct in Stanislaus Superior Court on November 12 2004.

'It was just like this amazing, horrible, physical reaction that I had,' he said. 

'I couldn’t feel my feet on the floor. I couldn’t feel the chair I was sitting in. My vision was even a little blurry. 

Peterson was convicted of killing his wife Laci who disappeared from their California home in 2002

Peterson was convicted of killing his wife Laci who disappeared from their California home in 2002

Laci was eight-months-pregnant when she disappeared. The fetus of her baby boy washed up next to her decapitated body in April 2003
Laci was eight-months-pregnant when she disappeared. The fetus of her baby boy washed up next to her decapitated body in April 2003

Laci was eight-months-pregnant when she disappeared. The fetus of her baby boy washed up next to her decapitated body in April 2003 

This is the most recent photograph of Peterson. He is shown to the left, talking with another inmate, inside San Quentin in December 2015

This is the most recent photograph of Peterson. He is shown to the left, talking with another inmate, inside San Quentin in December 2015

'And I just had this weird sensation that I was falling forward — and forward and down and there was going to be no end to this falling forward and down, like there was no floor to land on.

'I, I was staggered by it. I had no idea it was coming.' 

The interview is part of a documentary series into the case surrounding Laci and Conner's deaths titled The Murder of Laci Peterson. 

Peterson was having an affair with masseuse Amber Frey when his wife vanished 

Peterson was having an affair with masseuse Amber Frey when his wife vanished 

Scott's relatives and supporters took part in the documentary. They believe he was wrongly convicted and that police ignored other potential evidence in order to find their scapegoat.

Among their central arguments is that they saw Laci walking the couple's dog after Scott had left for a fishing trip on the day she disappeared.

They also pointed to a burglary which took place at their neighbor's house across the street, suggesting that those criminals may have been who took the pretty 27-year-old. 

Peterson is one of hundreds of men awaiting execution on California's death row.

The backlog is so drastic that he is more likely to die of natural causes than be given the lethal injection, as ordered by a judge in 2005. 

Frey was the prosecution's star witness. She told the court how Peterson told her she was single and then later said he was widowed
Frey was the prosecution's star witness. She told the court how Peterson told her she was single and then later said he was widowed

Frey was the prosecution's star witness. She told the court how Peterson told her she was single and then later said he was widowed

In 2004, he filed an appeal asking for his conviction to be overturned. His appeal is still pending. 

Laci's family is satisfied that he killed her as are prosecutors who said he was 'among the worst'. 

The prosecution's arguments hinged on his multiple extra-marital affairs. 

Amber Frey, the masseuse he was having an affair with when Laci died, became the prosecution's star witness. 

She told jurors that Scott told her once he was single and later that he was widowed. 

Peterson remains on death row at San Quentin prison in California with an appeal pending

Peterson remains on death row at San Quentin prison in California with an appeal pending

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