Extensive tv interview. You put so much of your life into it, it stays with you. Finally hear the story he told. Grabbed some pizza from the fridge. Reporter then jumped in the shower reporter his rarely seen Police Interrogation you have no idea where laci is. I do not. We couldnt find anything wrong with this guy. He was that charming. Reporter and surprising details from the other woman, who helped uncover the truth. It still affects me emotionally. Did Scott Peterson kill his wife . I dont believe he did. I mean, really. Who else could have done it . Im glad you asked that question. Im lester holt and this is dateline. Heres Keith Morrison with the Laci Peterson story. Lived a sweet, pregnant, woman, with a radiant smile. And outside of friends and family, hardly anyone knew her name. Can i help you . My soninlaw called. He was playing golf. My daughters been missing since this morning. Shes eight months pregnant. Reporter she would never know, of course, how famous that name of hers was about to become. We have no indication, no significant leads at this point. Reporter would never know that a curious, sympathetic, puzzled nation had cast an eye her way. Laci peterson. She was 27 years old. And, on the night before christmas, she was gone. Laci, if youre out there and can hear us and see us, we love you and were searching, were looking. Reporter it hit something. Something in the air. The zeitgeist, that name, that smile, that mystery, impossible to put down. Whoever has her, please, please, please let her go. Bring her back to us. We love her so much. And we want her back. Please let us have her him. The husband. The inscrutable Scott Peterson. I really dont care what people think of me as long as it continues to keep lacis picture, description, tipline in the media. Reporter before our very eyes he would morph from a faithful husband who loved his wife. To an object of suspicion and outrage. Such a circus the whole sad thing sometimes seemed to be. Scott. Hey why dont you come and talk to us and tell us the truth . Reporter but for all the noise, all the breathless coverage, the hours of tv, the acres of tabloid. There was, and is, a story never completely told until tonight. A story the prosecutors are telling on television for the first time. What do you think of Scott Peterson, his personality . Hes a very unusual person, hes clearly very hes i think hes very smart, i think reporter the story the detectives saw first hand. When somebodys in a position like him, and they didnt do it, usually theyll say, take blood. Take a polygraph. I dont care. But scott wouldnt do that. Hed only go to a point. Hes just cool as a moose. He was Steve Mcqueen cool reporter the story of what happened to her, too the other woman whos name was also thrust into a cultural moment, amber frey. What does a saga like that do to a persons life . Well, id say i mean, from day one it completely changed my life. Reporter and the story told by a frustrated exjournalist, convinced that the cops, the prosecutors, the public, got it all wrong. Did Scott Peterson kill his wife . I dont believe that. I dont believe he did. Reporter and tonight, a video we found buried in the court archives. Sat scott, is theres no you have no idea where laci is . I do not. Reporter Scott Peterson talking to a detective just hours after sounding the alarm. Laci was missing. But before we get there, well begin here, with Laci Petersons mother sharon rocha surrounded fortified really by lacis best friends. Stacey boyers, lori ellsworth, and renee tomlinson. They seem to make you feel cheerful they do. They help a lot you can see that theres im glad theyre here. But its tough still, huh . It is tough. Reporter perhaps harder than ever to talk about it, she said to talk about her long dead daughter, whose case so captivated the country. There are people growing up who probably either dont remember or never knew about Laci Peterson, tell me about laci. I moved to modesto in the third grade. And i knew nobody. And she was one of the first people i met. Reporter you get the idea. Big personality. It just makes you want to whistle. She made everybody laugh and welcome and just with a smile. She could smile and you would know that that is the girl that youre going to be probably spending the rest of the night talking to or or listening to. Laughing at, or listening to. Maybe not talking so much, but. She was hard to get a word in edgewise. Reporter talkative, smart, tenacious. You have us . I have you. Is it working . Reporter a person who went for what she wanted the way she did for Scott Peterson. How did laci meet scott . At a cafe where scott worked. Reporter or at least saw him there. And just like that gave a waiter her phone number, to pass on to scott. She wasnt bashful. Reporter and lacis mother liked scott. Liked him a lot. Very charming, very polite, perfect gentleman bring you roses, that sorta thing . Hed had a dozen roses for laci and then a dozen rose roses for me. So, of course, i was impressed. Reporter the courtship was like that, old fashioned. In what seemed like a good way. He actually asked our permission to marry laci. And we gave him our permission. Reporter there was a big wedding in the summer of 97. And by the turned of the millenium scott was a fertilizer salesman in modesto. Laci a substitute teacher. His job took him on the road a lot but they were happy. Did the three of you get to know the two of em together much before uhhuh. I thought he was a great guy. We thought they were great together. She was always happy. It was almost a joke of, gosh, does he have a brother . Reporter though laci struggled to get pregnant, after nearly five years of marriage that came too. The day after my baby shower that she threw for me, she took a pregnancy test and called everybody very early. Very early the next morning. Reporter soon enough the petersons learned they were having a boy. They readied the nursery and decided to name him conner. Laci was nearly 8 months pregnant by christmas, the last christmas before little conner was due. You were supposed to have Christmas Eve dinner. Is that right . Yes. I was. She was havin Christmas Day. And i was havin Christmas Eve dinner. That was when he called. It was close to 6 15. He called and asked if laci was with me. When i said, no, shes not here. Well, shes missing. Reporter and that was the beginning, Christmas Eve 2002. Laci peterson with her bright smile was nowhere to be found. Reporter when we cool back, the missing mom to be becomes national news. There was a 500,000 reward. The dog drags its leash, her neighbors robbed. Her husband, asking for help. Did he seem frantic or worried . A little bit. 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Reporter what was it about this woman, this man, this case, that so quickly gripped the nation . Was it her smile . Was it because it happened Christmas Eve . Subject for some phd thesis, that. But at the beginning, it was like a thousand other such cases, a stomach flipping phone call. Shes missing. Ive had a child for missing for ten minutes. And the the sense of, oh, my god. Something may have happened here, is so powerful, it just takes over everything, right . It does, it does, it does. It absolutely does. Reporter Laci Petersons mother sharon, remembers telling her son in law scott, check with the neighbors, call lacis friends. And he did . You all yeah. We all got a call. And he asked me if id seen her that day. Have you seen laci at all today . I said, no, i havent. And hes like, well, shes shes missing. Did he seem frantic, or worried, or what . A little bit. Reporter worried enough to ask for their help. So, did you all go over to his yeah. Yep. To their place . Reporter sharon rochas long time boyfriend ron grantski called the cops. My soninlaw called he was playing golf. My daughters been missing since this morning, shes eight months pregnant. Reporter golfing on a cold Christmas Eve . Odd but, okay. Meanwhile sharon followed up on something scott told her, that he came home to find the dog out in the yard wearing a leash. I went directly to the park. Because of that leash on the dog yes. We had walked together in the park before i was absolutely panicked, i was running around. I was looking in trash cans. I was screaming her name. Reporter no sign of her. Anywhere. Lacis friends spent the early hours of Christmas Morning making missing posters. The next morning, i walked in. Was it Christmas Day . We had fliers and tape and everything. Were gonna start passing these out to the um family and volunteers that have been here every day since day one. We hit the ground running. We just get up the next day and i know i didnt sleep for days. This is to oakdale, yeah, thats where im going to be. Whole town of modesto seemed to be looking for Laci Peterson. Please have prayers. Anyone out there help bring her home. Bring her home alive. Reporter of course the police were searching, too. Fullout. How long did the search go on in here anyway . Well, all night and then all the next day. Reporter al brocchini, the first detective on the case, watched as searchers scoured the area. They were everywhere here, right . They were just well, yeah. They did a grid search, meaning they wouldve they wouldve been in eye contact and walked this whole area. Reporter brocchini and his partner jon buehler had a feeling, from the start, Laci Peterson missing wasnt going to end well. Because she didnt lead an atrisk lifestyle. She didnt hang around at the bars. And she wasnt out twotiming him or doing anything like that. I mean, she was a girl that was just ecstatic, from everything that i learned about her, of being a mother. Reporter so she wasnt someone who would just walk away. An idea formed in the minds of those who loved laci, that somehow this might turn out all right. We know were going to find laci. We know were going to bring her home alive and safe. We were gonna find her. Like, i thought somebody kidnapped her. I thats what i thought, just for the baby or something. Heres lori, renee and stacey along with another friend in january of 2003. Theres a 500,000 reward for her and you know, the babys safe return. Just take that, you know . Take the money and give us laci back. Reporter so, in those first days an exhausted sharon rocha her ex husband, lacis father dennis beside her, went on t. V. And pleaded with a kidnapper. We would just like to send a message out there that whoever has her, please, please, please let her go. Bring her back to us. We love her so much. Reporter early on, there were clues the cops uncovered that made kidnapping seem plausible remember the couples dog with the leash attac scott found it in the backyard . A neighbor said she saw the petersons dog wandering the street earlier that day. So, maybe laci was kidnapped while walking the dog. And just about the time laci disappeared, there was a burglary right across the street. So, did she witness a crime . Did burglars take her . The Police Wanted to know. A reward for information for the identity of the uh the persons responsible for the burglary. Reporter then two men were caught, didnt take long. And soon enough one of them, showed up in a t. V. Interview. I went and picked up the safe and took it to my house and thats all that i had to do with it. I didnt have nothin to do with a that ladys disappearance. Reporter and police agreed. No connection to laci. Researching up all the sex registrants and the parolees, people with histories of violent crime, abductions, kidnappings, sexual assaults and things a lot of them hung out at the park, in that area we had some, and so we were clearing those guys. We were interviewing them and we were verifying their alibis. Reporter what the police were not saying was that homicide detectives had other suspicions. Of course they talked to lacis husband, scott. Were certainly gonna look at scott first. Hes the closest to laci. And thats where you start when youre working a case like this of course. Reporter that was behind the scenes, in front of the camera, the official police statements were more circumspect. Lets focus on the fact that we would still like to find laci alive, but we have to understand what the other possibilities are. The other possibilities are, that she could be, you know, a victim of foul play. Reporter those closest to laci, who at first were having trouble grappling with the whole idea of foul play, certainly couldnt fathom that scott had anything to do with lacis disappearance. Back then, early 2003, even sharon rocha told us, impossible. The people who know scott and laci have no doubt whatsoever that he has nothing to do with her disappearance. Reporter its a powerful thing, true belief. But when it comes crashing down, my, my, my. Reporter coming up, Scott Peterson, down at the station when did you realize you were going to go fishing . That was a morning decision. Reporter was there something fishy about his story. Fishing for, he didnt know what bait he was using. Its theat olive gardenver introducing new giant stuffed pastas starting at 12. 99. Pastas so big you could share them, but so delicious, you wont want to. Giant stuffed pastas. For a limited time at olive garden. Or how high the pollen count, flonase allergy relief keeps your eyes and nose clear. 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It has natural antioxidants and we dont have to use antibiotics in their diet. Perdue. Over 200 products we take some unexpected extra steps to raise healthy chickens with no antibiotics ever. For example, thyme. Its part of our 100 veggie diet and helps support their immune system. Perdue. Over 200 products no antibiotics ever. Reporter didnt take long for the Laci Peterson story to nationwide. The more leads we get, the more shes out there. Somewhere. Reporter friends and family desperate to get the story out talked to anyone, everyone. But they noticed one person seemed to stay in the background. Scott. Grieving in private, his parents told us back in 2003. Hes brave but hes just devastated. He just would not be a good spokesperson. Reporter but there was one camera scott couldnt shy away from at the Police Station. Here is scott with detective brocchini just hours after he reported laci missing. In this rarely seen video, you can watch scott. Hear his words. Does he seem like a worried frantic husband . Youll see. Just tell me about the morning . Um, ok. I dont know what time we got up. Probably, uh laci got up and went and, um, i assume had she had some cereal for breakfast. Was he okay with talking to you . Was there any hesitation at all . No. He agreed. He was okay with it. Didnt ask for an attorney or anything like that . No, didnt didnt ask for an attorney. And then she was going to the store to buy for Christmas Morning breakfast tomorrow. And that was gonna be, uh, an involved prep. So that was her afternoon was prepping the breakfast. And she was gonna make gingerbread cookies for tonight. Reporter as brocchini sat there he was struck by how impassive scott was, even as he revealed he didnt go golfing. When did you realize you were gonna go fishing . Well, that was the morning decision. Its either that was a morning decision . Go play golf at the club, or or go fishing. Ok. It seemed too cold to go play golf at the club. Reporter he said he drove to his Warehouse Office a few miles away. Um, and you want over to your shop . Right. And whatd you do over there . Uh, i assembled my, uh, mortiser. Know what a mortiser is . No. Its a woodworking tool, to make tables. Yeah. I just got that, so i assembled it. Um, checked my email. Sent one email. Then hooked the boat up, and went. Reporter then, said scott, he drove to the Berkeley Marina about 90 miles away. Parked his car, and put his boat in the water. When you got in your boat and you took off, did you go very far, or . Well, i mean, probably a couple miles. I went north, um, found a like, a Little Island kinda deal there. Um, the island, uh, had a bunch of trash on it. I remember a big sign that said, no landing. It looked like some broken piers around it. And i just assumed it would be a decent, you know, shallow area. Did you troll . L