Barbara Walters' July Interview With Petersons

July 9, 2004 -- -- A year and a half ago Lee and Jackie Peterson were eagerly awaiting the birth of their grandson. Today, they say, there is no joy in their lives.

Their son Scott is on trial, accused of the savage murder of his wife, Laci, and their unborn son, a baby they planned to name Conner.

Lee and Jackie Peterson tell 20/20's Barbara Walters they are convinced of their son's innocence. But as the case unfolds in a Redwood City, Calif., courthouse, the Petersons must reconcile two versions of their son: one, a wrongly accused husband who grieves for his murdered wife and unborn son, and the other, an adulterer turned cold-blooded monster.

Lee Peterson said the trial has "consumed us totally, so that there's no joy in any of our lives, since Laci went missing."

To a world audience transfixed by the Peterson case the sordid facts have become all too familiar. On Christmas Eve of 2002, 27-year-old Laci Peterson, eight months pregnant, mysteriously disappeared. Then a massage therapist named Amber Frey revealed that she had been having an affair with Scott — a fact he did not tell the police.

Four months after Laci disappeared, the decomposed bodies of the young woman and her baby washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay, near where Scott Peterson says he was fishing the day his wife vanished. Within the week, Scott was arrested and charged with two counts of murder.

During the trial, which is expected to last at least six months, prosecutors are painting an ugly portrait of a man they say plotted and carried out a brutal slaying. But the Petersons say their son is an affectionate, sweet and even-tempered man who was excited to become a father.

The last time they saw Scott and Laci together — four days before Laci disappeared, the Petersons say, they were putting their hands on Laci's stomach, trying to feel the baby kick. "Scott was trying to find it for us, so we could feel it kick, and they were just ecstatic," Jackie Peterson said.

The Petersons learned of Laci's disappearance when Scott called them. Jackie Peterson said her son was sobbing and could hardly speak.

"All I could hear was, 'Laci' and 'miss.' And I thought she'd miscarried, and my heart just sunk. I said, 'Settle down. Take some deep breaths. Everything's going to be OK. Take a few breaths and then tell me slowly.' And he told me she was missing," she said.

There have been reports that Scott showed no emotion, but the Petersons say that's untrue. They say Scott "cried privately" and tried "to be brave" for them as the search was launched for Laci.

The Petersons say they were shocked and angered when they learned that their son was the prime suspect in the case. "I was angry," Lee Peterson said, "because I knew that there was no possibility that Scott had anything to do with this."

Lee said he feels certain his son couldn't have killed Laci. "It's just not in him," he said, "I've never seen him mad. The only time I've seen him mad is — if he misses a golf shot, he might get a little mad."

‘A Very Good Marriage’

The Petersons say they've never had a moment of suspicion that their son could be guilty, even since learning that Scott had been having an affair while Laci was pregnant.

"They had a very good marriage. They backed each other up all the way. It was like it was them and we were all outsiders. They were totally dedicated to each other," Jackie Peterson said.

Scott's father said they were disappointed to learn of Scott's affair, but said, "it's certainly not anything that's extraordinary. … I mean that's the reality of life. Men have affairs, women have affairs."

They've learned, they say, that it's even more common for men to cheat on their wives when their wives are pregnant.

Scott's father says he thinks his son's affair with Frey was a simple matter of seeking another woman for sex while Laci was in her final months of pregnancy. "I think it's that simple, Barbara. I really do," he said, adding, "It certainly doesn't give motive for murder."

Jackie Peterson said Scott is handling the trial fairly well, because "he can see some light at the end of the tunnel." But, she says, there was a time before the trial when he wanted to give up.

She said Scott felt "like his life was over and gone and everything he was building in his life was for Laci and the baby."

Arrest Was 'a Relief'

Lee Peterson said prison has been a blessing of sorts for their son. "You have to understand he was virtually run out of town. He had media following him, hounding him every day," he said. "Shock jocks, line up in front of his house with bull horns, you know, screaming 'murderer.' "

The Petersons say the media frenzy essentially forced Scott out of his home. "He became a homeless man, living out of a car. He really did. He literally became a nomad," Lee Peterson said.

"It was a relief when we heard he was arrested. That sounds strange, but at least we knew where he was every night and that he was safe, relatively safe," his father said.

The Petersons say Scott talks with them about Laci and Conner, and chokes back tears when he does.

Jackie Peterson says she and her husband try to help their son focus on positive memories. "We try to keep him up, but things come up and when we mention it, then he starts weeping," she said. "We just try to … remember the good things and nice times we had together. We'll always have those. No one can take those away from us."