‘American Murder: Laci Peterson’ Netflix Series Review - A Story of Inhumanity

This documentary by Netflix is about Laci Peterson who was 27 years old and eight months pregnant when she got murdered. The case was initially a missing case but with the turn of events we're made aware of a heinous crime that shook the people of America. Including various interviews with Laci’s family and people involved in finding the culprit, the documentary shows the story of both sides. Scott (Laci’s husband) was suspected of being involved and things get clarified over the episodes. The documentary has three episodes which take the audience on a journey to uncover this incident.

In 2002, on Christmas Eve, Laci was reported missing by her husband Scott. He said that she took their dog on a stroll and never returned. The dog however was back with a loose leash but Laci was nowhere to be seen. The case gradually grabbed the attention of media personnel and it became a nationwide search. Everyone was looking for Laci and what could've potentially happened to her. The search parties widened the area of their search and the case was filed based on Scott’s testimony. The police officials found loopholes in his statements and that's when he became the key suspect. By the end of the first episode, we're made aware that Scott might be the one behind his wife's disappearance. People and Laci's family members had a hope that she may still be alive.

In the second episode, Scott's family members are given a chance to tell their part of the story. Laci's mom and her friends had already started suspecting Scott due to the distance he maintained from telling his side of the story to the media. He wasn't actively involved and then with a blast came the news of his extramarital affair with Amber Frey. This was a blow to the case and a motive had been found. The officers couldn't arrest Scott based on this as they needed concrete proof i.e., a body. This is the painful part as despite several attempts of searching for Laci, a body couldn't be found. The police doubt Scott dumped her body in the water after the magical appearance of his boat. They searched the suspected area yet she wasn't anywhere to be found.

This is in the third episode that it's told that in April 2003 her body was found. She and Conner (the unborn son) were found and after matching the DNA samples, it was confirmed that the body belonged to them. After an intensive trial, Scott was found guilty. The problem with Scott's trial is that it was heavily influenced by the media. People were angry and they wanted to see him hang. There was already so much written about him that it was a difficult task to form a jury which is not biased. The trial concluded by declaring that Scott was guilty of the crime. He served life imprisonment as the death sentence was scratched later on. The documentary has a unique way of telling the story as they didn't jump to conclusions right away. A good time has been taken to build up this case and extensive interviews have been included. This true crime documentary establishes how pregnant women die mostly due to pregnancy.

Final Score – [7.5/10]
Reviewed by - Riya Singh
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Publisher at Midgard Times