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Laci Denise Peterson (née Rocha; May 4, 1975 – December 24, 2002) was an American woman who was the subject of a highly publicized murder case after she disappeared while eight months pregnant with her first child. She was reportedly last seen alive on December 24, 2002. Her husband Scott Peterson was later convicted of first degree murder for her death, and second degree murder for the death of their prenatal son Conner. Peterson is currently on death row at San Quentin State Prison.
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Early life and marriage
Laci Denise Rocha was born May 4, 1975, to Sharon and Dennis Robert Rocha, who had met in high school, and owned a dairy farm west of Escalon, California. Sharon named Laci after a pretty girl she met in high school. Laci's older brother, Brent Rocha, was born in 1971. Laci worked on the farm from a young age, and also enjoyed gardening with her mother, an activity with which she developed an appreciation for plant life that influenced her late life. Sharon and Dennis divorced when Laci and her brother Brent were young. Sharon and the children moved to Modesto, though the children visited the dairy on weekends. Sharon eventually married Ron Grantski, who helped raise Laci and Brent from the time Laci was two years old. Dennis also remarried, gaining a stepson, Nathan Hazard, and with his second wife, had another daughter, Amy Woodward.
Laci was a cheerleader in junior high and high school. After graduating from Thomas Downey High School, she attended California Polytechnic State University where she majored in ornamental horticulture. While at California Polytechnic, Laci would sometimes visit a friend who worked at a restaurant in Morro Bay called the Pacific Café. There, she met her friend's coworker, Scott Peterson, in mid-1994. Laci made the first move, sending Scott her phone number, and immediately after meeting him, she told her mother that she had met the man that she would marry. Scott later called Laci and they began dating, their first date being a deep-sea fishing trip on which Laci got seasick. As Laci's relationship with Scott grew more serious, he put aside his dreams of professional golf in order to focus on a business path. The couple dated for two years, and eventually moved in together.
While Scott finished his senior year, Laci took a job in nearby Prunedale. Prosecutors have stated that around this time, Scott engaged in the first of at least two extramarital affairs, though they have not revealed a name or details of each relationship. After her graduation, the couple married at Sycamore Mineral Springs Resort in San Luis Obispo County's Avila Valley on August 9, 1997. Peterson graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural business in June 1998. After their graduations, the Petersons opened a sports bar in San Luis Obispo called The Shack. Business was initially slow, but eventually improved, especially on weekends. They sold The Shack in 2000 when they moved to Laci's hometown of Modesto, California to start a family. In October 2000, they purchased a three-bedroom, two-bath bungalow house for $177,000 on Covena Avenue in an upscale neighborhood near La Loma Park.
