REVEALED: Where Scott Peterson’s parents went after their ‘golden boy’ son was convicted of murdering Laci—and the TRAGIC END of the mother who defended him to her dying breath… What a shock!

Scott Peterson has spent more than half his life in prison for the murder of his wife, Laci Peterson — but his parents believed he was innocent.

Laci Peterson was eight months pregnant when she disappeared from the Modesto, Calif., home she shared with her husband, Scott, on Dec. 24, 2002. In April 2003, the remains of Laci and their unborn son, whom they planned to name Conner, were recovered in the San Francisco Bay.

Days later, Scott was arrested and later charged with murdering both his wife and unborn child. Around the same time, it became public that Scott had been having an 𝒶𝒻𝒻𝒶𝒾𝓇 with a woman named Amber Frey.

Scott’s parents, Lee and Jackie Peterson, had seen the couple just four days before Laci’s disappearance. “We were all putting our hands on [Laci’s] stomach … Scott was trying to find the baby for us so we could feel it kick,” Jackie recalled during a July 2004 interview with Barbara Walters. She added that Scott and Laci were “ecstatic” about becoming parents.

Jackie and Lee stood by their son throughout the trial, including when Scott was eventually found guilty. They also continued to believe in his innocence until their deaths in 2013 and 2024, respectively.

In 2024, the Los Angeles Innocence Project agreed to review his case, and A&E’s Scott Peterson: The New Evidence, which premiered on July 16, examines alternate theories and evidence that supporters believe could call his conviction into question.

Here’s everything to know about what happened to Scott Peterson’s parents after Laci Peterson’s death.

Lee and Jackie welcomed Scott in 1972

Jackie and Lee Peterson in 2004.

Michael Maloney-Pool/Getty

Lee and Jackie welcomed Scott, their only child together, on Oct. 24, 1972. The couple wed the year prior and raised Scott in San Diego.

Lee worked for a trucking company before he started his own shipping and packing business, and Jackie owned a clothing boutique in La Jolla, Calif., called The Put On.

During a March 2004 interview with SF Gate, Lee and Jackie described Scott as the “perfect” son growing up, noting how he never got into trouble and loved golfing, fishing and Cub Scouts.

“We’d tell him, ‘You’re a lucky man.’ He never got in a scrape,” Lee told the outlet. “He was like Mr. Perfect.”

Lee and Jackie had a large blended family

Jackie Peterson and her sister, Susan Caudillo, in 2004.

Monica M. Davey-Pool/Getty

In addition to Scott, both Lee and Jackie had children from previous relationships. Lee had three children from his first marriage, daughter Susan and sons Joe and Mark, while Jackie had a son named John.

Jackie also had two children whom she gave up for adoption who reconnected with the family years later. During their interview with SF Gate, the couple compared their family dynamic to the Brady Bunch.

Jackie’s father was murdered

Jackie Peterson holds hands with her daughter-in-law, Janey Peterson, as Scott’s father, Lee Peterson, walks behind them in 2002.

Dan Honda-Pool/Getty

When Jackie was just 2 years old, her father, John Latham, was attacked and killed outside of his tire shop in San Diego, per SF Gate.

Shortly after his death, Jackie’s mother struggled to care for her and her siblings. Jackie was then sent to what she described as an orphanage when she was 5 years old, where she was raised by Catholic nuns.

Jackie opened up about her traumatic childhood while testifying during the penalty phase of Scott’s trial.

Lee and Jackie saw Laci four days before she went missing

Laci Peterson and Scott Peterson.

Modesto Police Department/ZUMA Press/Shutterstock

During a sit-down interview with Walters in July 2004, Scott’s parents revealed that they had seen both him and Laci just days before she went missing, claiming that everything seemed fine between the couple.

Jackie added that Scott was “very excited” about becoming a father, and that he and Laci had tried to get pregnant for three years. She also recalled the moment she found out Laci was missing.

“The phone rang and I answered it. Scott was sobbing on the phone, and all I could hear was ‘Laci’ and ‘Miss,’ ” Jackie told Walters. “I thought she had miscarried, and my heart just sank … and then he told me she was missing.”

Of their marriage, Jackie claimed: “They backed each other up all the way … they were totally dedicated to each other.”

Lee and Jackie testified during Scott’s death penalty sentencing

Jackie Peterson and Lee Peterson in 2004.

Monica M. Davey-Pool/Getty

Both Lee and Jackie testified during the penalty phase of Scott’s 2004 trial, urging the jury to spare him from the death penalty.

“He’s an exceptional young man and he’s my son,” Jackie said during her testimony, per CBS News. “I know he’s not perfect … but he is genuinely a loving, caring, nurturing, kind, gentle person.”

She continued: “I really feel if you were to take Scott away from us — they were like a family, Laci, Conner and Scott — it would be a whole family wiped off the face of the earth.”

During his testimony, Lee described Scott as his “best friend” and said he helped bring their family “closer together,” according to SF Gate. Scott’s half-sister Susan also testified, noting that she was worried about her parents’ health.

“I see the pain in their faces every day,” she said of Lee and Jackie. “I can’t imagine it getting any worse than having him put to death. We’re sticking together, we’re strong, we’re supportive of him 100 percent, but I don’t think my parents will make it if he goes.”

Scott was ultimately sentenced to death. However, years later, in 2020, the California Supreme Court overturned his death sentence, citing significant errors in jury selection during the original trial. He was resentenced to life in prison the following year.

Jackie died in 2013

Jackie Peterson enters the San Mateo County Superior Court in 2004.

Ron Lewis-Pool/Getty

Jackie died of cancer in 2013. She had been suffering from respiratory issues for several years and used an oxygen tank throughout Scott’s trial.

Lee reportedly took Jackie home from the hospital to care for her in her last days.

Lee died in 2024

Lee Peterson leaves the San Mateo Superior Court in 2004.

Justin Sullivan/Getty

On Nov. 9, 2024, Scott’s sister-in-law, Janey Peterson, shared on Facebook that Lee had died. “We said our tender goodbyes to my father-in-law last week. Rest in perfect peace, Pops,” she wrote alongside a photo of Lee holding his great-grandson.

Janey, who is married to Scott’s older half-brother Joe, has been actively working to clear Scott’s name and even became an attorney to assist with the case.

“There’s evidence that was completely ignored that shows Laci was alive after he left for the day,” she said during an August 2021 appearance on Today. “But also, there was no evidence that he had anything to do with what happened to Laci.”

“We don’t have justice,” Janey added. “This crime is not solved.”