American Murder: Laci Peterson Features Rare Interview with Sharon Rocha

In the compelling new three-part documentary series American Murder: Laci Peterson, director Skye Borgman revisits one of the most notorious true crime cases in recent history. On Christmas Eve in 2002, Laci Peterson, eight months pregnant, disappeared from her home in Modesto, California. Her case captivated the nation and garnered extensive media attention, culminating in the tragic discovery of her remains in the San Francisco Bay. The subsequent investigation led to the conviction of her husband, Scott Peterson, who was found guilty of the murders of Laci and their unborn child in 2004. Despite maintaining his innocence, Peterson remains convicted and incarcerated.

The American Murder: Laci Peterson series employs a variety of sources including news clips, interrogation footage, and courtroom recordings to provide a comprehensive view of the case's evolution. The documentary features interviews with key figures involved in the investigation and trial, including detectives, attorneys, and jurors. Notably, the series includes a significant interview with Amber Frey, the woman with whom Scott Peterson was having an affair at the time of Laci’s disappearance. Frey’s cooperation with law enforcement was instrumental in advancing the case against Peterson.

For the first time since her daughter’s death, Sharon Rocha, Laci Peterson’s mother, has granted an extensive interview for the series. This interview offers a poignant exploration of the ongoing grief and loss Sharon Rocha endures. Borgman emphasized the emotional weight of this segment, noting that while Sharon Rocha had previously participated in media interviews, she had never before shared her story in a documentary format. “Sharon did press when Laci went missing, but she’s never sat down to do an interview for a documentary,” Borgman told Netflix. “It’s not easy, after 20 years, to sit down in front of a camera. But we wanted this to be about Laci, to bring her back to people’s consciousness. Sharon wanted to talk about Laci’s spirit, and about the dragonflies that Laci loved. How Laci is still with them, and how Conner — Laci’s unborn son — is still with them.”

In addition to interviews with Sharon Rocha, American Murder: Laci Peterson features perspectives from Laci’s friends, Scott Peterson’s relatives, and the law enforcement officers who worked tirelessly on the case. Borgman’s interest extends beyond the specifics of the Modesto case. “There’s this statistic that is shocking to me every time I hear it—homicide is the number one cause of death for pregnant women. Every time I say that to people, they tell me absolutely that can't be true, but it is,” Borgman remarks. “Intimate partner violence is something that's really overwhelming. I want people to walk away from this thinking about that in a deeper way.”