CBS News
Do words make you a murderer? The case against Brandon Pettit
A son is accused of having his parents killed, but his sister says there s no physical evidence directly tying him to the crime only words. 2021 May 15
The morning of August 8, 2013 had started out full of promise for then-28-year-old Lauren Pettit, who was living in Los Angeles.
Lauren Pettit: I remember I had texted one of my best friends that morning, Today s gonna be a good day.
What she didn t know was that 300 miles away in Modesto, California, firefighters had been called to her parents home at 3 a.m. Their bedroom had gone up in flames. Lauren s parents, Scott and Janet Pettit, were found dead inside.
48 Hours Covers Pettit Case This Weekend
After Scott and Janet Pettit were found dead in their Modesto, Calif., home in 2013, their son, Brandon, was accused of hiring a friend to kill them. Investigators maintained that he wanted his parents’ money to start a new life. His sister says her brother loved their parents and there’s no way he did it. She vows to fight for his freedom.
Correspondent Erin Moriarty and 48 HOURS investigate the death of the Pettits and the case against their son in “A Sister’s Fight for Her Brother” to be broadcast
Saturday, May 15 (10:00-11:00 PM ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
CBS News
Text promising boob job becomes key evidence in murder trial
Just hours before his parents were killed, Brandon Pettit sent a woman a text promising her a breast enhancement for Christmas. Is it bad timing or evidence of a financial motive for murder? 2021 May 14
This past January, a young man was sentenced to two life terms for the murder of his parents, bringing a dramatic case to a close and leaving his sister devastated. When Brandon Pettit was arrested in August 2013 for the murders of his parents in Modesto, California, there was no physical evidence directly tying him to the crime. Instead, police based their case on things the then-25-year-old Pettit had said and done shortly before and after the murders. Lauren Pettit, Brandon s only sibling, is convinced authorities got it wrong and believes her brother is innocent.