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- Birth
-
Modesto, Stanislaus County, California, USA
- Death
- 24 Dec 2002 (aged 27)
Modesto, Stanislaus County, California, USA
- Burial
-
Burwood Cemetery
Escalon, San Joaquin County, California, USA Show Map GPS-Latitude: 37.7605728, Longitude: -120.9599289
- Plot
- For privacy reasons the lot location will not be posted.
- Memorial ID
- 7357179 · View Source
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- Memorial
- Photos 3
- Flowers 7614
Murder Victim. Her disappearance and later murder gained nation-wide media coverage, and changed laws in regards to murder of an unborn. Born in Modesto, California, she graduated from California Polytechnic State University, where in 1994, she met Scott Peterson through a friend. They were married two years later, and ran a successful restaurant in San Luis Obispo, California. The couple moved to Modesto in 2000, where she became a substitute teacher. She disappeared from her Modesto home on Christmas Eve morning 2002, when her husband, Scott Peterson, reported she had taken their dog for a walk while he went fishing in San Francisco Bay. Upon her husband's return that afternoon, the dog was found in the backyard, where a neighbor had put him earlier that day and she was not at home. At that point, her husband called police about 6:00 pm to report her disappearance. A wide-scale search failed to find her, and the story soon had national media attention, including an episode on "America's Most Wanted." At the time of her disappearance, she was almost eight months pregnant with their unborn son, Conner Peterson, who was due to be born on February 10, 2003.There were numerous unsuccessful searches for her. Police soon learned that her husband had a new romantic interest, Amber Frey, who thought Scott Peterson was unmarried, until learning through news reports of her disappearance. At that point, Frey contacted the police and provided critical information on Scott. Her husband's unbeknownst participation with Frey in a wiretapped telephone conversation led to further incriminating information from him that she could be dead. On April 14, 2003, two badly decomposed bodies of a woman and a male fetus washed ashore on the beach of Point Isabel Regional Park at San Francisco Bay, which DNA soon identifiedas hers and her unborn son's remains. Four days later, when it was clear the police were focusing on Scott, her husband made an apparent run for the Mexican border, dying his brown hair blonde, growing a goatee, carrying $15,000 in cash, camping equipment and his brother's borrowed passport. He was arrested in La Jolla, near San Diego and close to the Mexican border, and charged with first-degree murder. On November 12, 2004, despite a vigorous defense from her husband's high-profile defense attorney, Mark Geragos, a conviction on both charges was reached and a month later, her husband was sentenced to death. In December of 2005, her mother, Sharon Rocha, was awarded $250,000, the proceeds of her life insurance policy and wrote a book, "For Laci", describing the circ*mstances of her death and Scott's subsequent trial.The murder of her unborn son, Connor,led the US Congress to pass the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act," in their honor.In 2020, the California Supreme Court upheld her husband's conviction but overturned the death sentencedue to improper dismissal of some jurors over their disagreement with the death penalty. Her husband is serving a life sentence without parole.
Murder Victim. Her disappearance and later murder gained nation-wide media coverage, and changed laws in regards to murder of an unborn. Born in Modesto, California, she graduated from California Polytechnic State University, where in 1994, she met Scott Peterson through a friend. They were married two years later, and ran a successful restaurant in San Luis Obispo, California. The couple moved to Modesto in 2000, where she became a substitute teacher. She disappeared from her Modesto home on Christmas Eve morning 2002, when her husband, Scott Peterson, reported she had taken their dog for a walk while he went fishing in San Francisco Bay. Upon her husband's return that afternoon, the dog was found in the backyard, where a neighbor had put him earlier that day and she was not at home. At that point, her husband called police about 6:00 pm to report her disappearance. A wide-scale search failed to find her, and the story soon had national media attention, including an episode on "America's Most Wanted." At the time of her disappearance, she was almost eight months pregnant with their unborn son, Conner Peterson, who was due to be born on February 10, 2003.There were numerous unsuccessful searches for her. Police soon learned that her husband had a new romantic interest, Amber Frey, who thought Scott Peterson was unmarried, until learning through news reports of her disappearance. At that point, Frey contacted the police and provided critical information on Scott. Her husband's unbeknownst participation with Frey in a wiretapped telephone conversation led to further incriminating information from him that she could be dead. On April 14, 2003, two badly decomposed bodies of a woman and a male fetus washed ashore on the beach of Point Isabel Regional Park at San Francisco Bay, which DNA soon identifiedas hers and her unborn son's remains. Four days later, when it was clear the police were focusing on Scott, her husband made an apparent run for the Mexican border, dying his brown hair blonde, growing a goatee, carrying $15,000 in cash, camping equipment and his brother's borrowed passport. He was arrested in La Jolla, near San Diego and close to the Mexican border, and charged with first-degree murder. On November 12, 2004, despite a vigorous defense from her husband's high-profile defense attorney, Mark Geragos, a conviction on both charges was reached and a month later, her husband was sentenced to death. In December of 2005, her mother, Sharon Rocha, was awarded $250,000, the proceeds of her life insurance policy and wrote a book, "For Laci", describing the circ*mstances of her death and Scott's subsequent trial.The murder of her unborn son, Connor,led the US Congress to pass the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act," in their honor.In 2020, the California Supreme Court upheld her husband's conviction but overturned the death sentencedue to improper dismissal of some jurors over their disagreement with the death penalty. Her husband is serving a life sentence without parole.
Inscription
Our Angels in Heaven
Our Brown Eyed Girl
Your beautiful smile, contagious laughter, loving heart and free spirit will forever be with us. We love you so much and hold you close within our hearts... Until we are together again.
Family Members
Parents
- Dennis Robert Rocha 1946–2018
Children
- Conner Peterson 2002–2002
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See more Peterson or Rocha memorials in:
- Burwood Cemetery Peterson or Rocha
- Escalon Peterson or Rocha
- San Joaquin County Peterson or Rocha
- California Peterson or Rocha
- USA Peterson or Rocha
- Find a Grave Peterson or Rocha
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- Maintained by: Find a Grave
- Added:Apr 15, 2003
- Find a Grave Memorial ID:
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Find a Grave, database and images (https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/7357179/laci_denise-peterson: accessed ), memorial page for Laci Denise Rocha Peterson (4 May 1975–24 Dec 2002), Find a Grave Memorial ID 7357179, citing Burwood Cemetery, Escalon, San Joaquin County, California, USA; Maintained by Find a Grave.
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