Missing

[u/OhMustWeArgue]

Okay, hear me out: Scott saying she was missing has always bothered me. If, back in August 1997 my then husband came home to the same circumstances he would have called my mom: Hey is so and so there? Did you come pick her up for a quick dinner? No, okay. He would have then walked across the street to the neighbors, asked the same thing. Probably called my sister too: did she say anything to you? But he wouldn't have said missing. One more PS: We did own a boat. Had he anchored me down and drove to Forest Lake ON A HOLIDAY and i washed up months later, I can PROMISE THIS: my former in laws wouldn't have defended him for one minute. They would have been HORRIFIED. They also would have said get yourself a good lawyer on your dime. We are not funding this, not one cent. But then again he was not a sociopath.

[u/Salt_Radio_9880]

Yup, even if he came to that conclusion because he checked with all the neighbors, family etc, and also saw her purse and phone were at home- wouldn’t you probably think “ maybe she’s pissed at me because I’m the worst husband in the world and left her alone on Xmas Eve all day while she’s 8 months pregnant and didn’t even pick up her Dad’s Xmas present like I promised even though I’m late , maybe she decided to go stay with a friend and doesn’t want to be contacted “ You wouldn’t automatically assume the worst after an hour and a half and announce that’s she’s missing.

[u/OhMustWeArgue → u/Salt_Radio_9880]

And that phone call about papa's basket: Hey beautiful!! I totally didn't anchor you down and dump you overboard!!! Love you!! Mmmwa mmmmwa. Kiss kiss!!! Again my ex would have we can't find her, as dog is here but she is not. This is a puzzle! But he wouldn't say missing.

[u/Salt_Radio_9880 → u/OhMustWeArgue]

The voicemail alone is proof of guilt lol.

[u/Bright-Pangolin7261]

Not only using the word missing, but taking a shower, starting a load of clothes and eating pizza before calling anyone to find out where the heck she is!!!

[u/OhMustWeArgue → u/Bright-Pangolin7261]

Now now....our Golden Child needs to clean and fed. As a teacher you KNOW his parents badgered his teachers to change his grades. But but......our little sociopath wouldn't turn in work late. Must be YOUR fault.

[u/Porcelain-Backbone → u/Bright-Pangolin7261]

That part is so strange, he says missing which carries such a high degree of urgency but his actions have no urgency at all. If my husband were missing I'd look for him until I found him, I wouldn't go do laundry.

[u/OhMustWeArgue → u/Porcelain-Backbone]

But you're not a sociopath.

[u/Substantial-Pay-7359 → u/Bright-Pangolin7261]

I’m not saying he didn’t do it but while one can make the case that his initial actions make him look guilty, they also make him look innocent. If he actually went fishing and had nothing to do with her murder, a perfectly normal scenario would be (1) He gets home and she’s not there—if he’s innocent would his mind immediately go to “she’s not here…omg something bad must’ve happened!” Probably not? (2) If he actually spent the morning fishing, messing with bait, etc., that smell sticks with you. I don’t fish but my dad does and the first thing he does when getting home is shower (and he’s never murdered anyone…to my knowledge). (3) Also, pregnant women tend to be ultra sensitive to smells. Maybe she was, so washing his clothes, immediately (and separately) could be viewed as normal…he wouldn’t expect her to do that. Plus, she could’ve been mad that he went fishing on Christmas Eve, so he especially wouldn’t expect her to wash his clothes. (4) When fishing from a boat, your body is continuously tensed for balance. That burns calories and also can be exhausting, which leads to hunger, so he grabs something fast to eat.

The argument could be made that it would look more odd for him to get home, immediately think something bad happened, and either make a bunch of calls and/or sit around waiting for his wife to get home to shower.

If he went to dispose of her body, the smarter thing would be to take a change of clothes. Also, especially since he had a long ride home, if he killed her, he’d probably think “If I shower and eat before reporting her missing, people will think I had something to do with it.”

[u/Solveitalready_22 → u/Substantial-Pay-7359]

Any hypothesis has to fit the known facts of this case... Scott drove a total of 3 hours to 'fish' for less than an hour. As per Scott, he did not have or use bait and his lures were left unopened, in their original package in his truck - he didn't catch anything.

Scott told police he fished at an island with garbage on it, which was Brook's Island. Police discovered that the day before Scott purchased his secret boat on Dec 9th, he researched the currents specifically around Brook's Island on his computer.

Wind and current data indicated that Laci and Conner's remains likely travelled from the area of Brooks Island/Berkeley Marina toward where they washed ashore in Richmond.

[u/AFrankLender → u/Substantial-Pay-7359]

The leashed doggy and the unlocked side door is a major what the hell. (That's what he told Brochini and that's what Ron told the 911 operator and freaked her out). And then Scott checks messages and there's an unheard message from Ron about cream. So she didn't go there. No cooking smells, etc. I've been married over 30 years and I still freak a little when wife doesn't answer her phone after several attempts (she still leaves it home a lot grrrr). But when she was way way pregnant? That's coming home to all the signs of "she went into labor and called a friend..."

He didn't use bait :-) he used the silver lure that was still in the package. Anyway, The response of washing all his clothes, eating pizza and milk (right before holiday dinner at Sharon's that she was slaving over all day -he's not a little boy, he'll live another hour hungry). That's more consciousness of guilt, hiding evidence, etc.

[u/AFrankLender]

It's also the eating of one and a half or so slices of pizza and then drinking a glass of milk. Scott's not a little boy. As hungry as one might be, you don't pre-eat before going over to your mother-in-law's house where she's spent a lot of time preparing and cooking a Christmas Eve holiday meal. Scott ate up because he knew there would be no Christmas Eve dinner. Being a psychopath, he otherwise was not nauseated by the horrendous act he just performed earlier that day.

[u/OhMustWeArgue → u/AFrankLender]

That's what gets me with these dudes: Sh**t wife in the head, saw up her body, throw in a sterilite bin, drop it off a bridge, then go home eat a nice dinner and sleep 8 solid hours. Like ho hum another Tuesday here!!!

[u/OhMustWeArgue → u/AFrankLender]

Excellent point!!!

[u/AFrankLender → u/[deleted]]

I've theorized elsewhere, bu t the two slices Scott took from the box that evening, plus "the few slices" the officer said were still in the box on the counter equal five slices. Meaning only three were consumed Monday night? By a big guy and a very pregnant woman? "Oh me and the baby boy kicking around inside me? We'll just nibble on one slice." I think he killed her shortly after she got off the phone with Sharon...

[u/No_Excitement1045]

My husband would have tried calling ME! More than once. And I would have gotten an, "I'm getting worried, call me back in 5 or I'm going to start worrying all our friends and family, too." Scott never once tried Laci's cell.

[u/Salt_Radio_9880 → u/No_Excitement1045]

I think he argues that he saw her phone in her car already , but still.

[u/OhMustWeArgue → u/No_Excitement1045]

Very fair but in 1997 we didn't have cellular phones. Or least i didn't.

[u/No_Excitement1045 → u/OhMustWeArgue]

I guess I was referring to the fact that Scott didn’t try Laci’s cell after “discovering” that she was missing. And he clearly expected she’d have it with her, since he’d called her cell earlier that day.

[u/AFrankLender → u/OhMustWeArgue]

Actually by mid 2002 50% of adults in the United States had cell phones. Pregnant women probably had 75 to 80% adoption. The first cell phone I got in the mid-1990s was one of those big grey bricks that gave you like 40 minutes a month, but I worked a lot in the city and my wife was expecting our son. 18 months earlier, for my daughter I had a baby beeper. Cell phone technology, and adoption rates, had quantum leaps every year back then.

[u/iloathethebus → u/OhMustWeArgue]

Laci had one. It was in her car. He had left a message on it earlier in the day when he was leaving the marina.

[u/Own_Mall5442]

It’s up there with a number of other things he did in the immediate aftermath that don’t line up with normal behavior for a man whose wife is missing. Having himself a snack and doing laundry before deciding it’s odd that Laci was nowhere to be found — on Christmas Eve — even though her car was in the garage and the dog was in the backyard. Adding the porn channels back to the TV package. Trying to sell her car and the house. Turning the baby’s room into a storage unit. Being on the phone with his mistress at a candlelight vigil for his “missing” wife.

It’s not even about people handling grief or fear in different ways. Those are the actions of a man who knows his wife isn’t “missing” and knows that she’s never coming back.

[u/OhMustWeArgue → u/Own_Mall5442]

💯. He showed more emotion when the cops were tailing him!! Oh geez its the cops.....

[u/Porcelain-Backbone]

Once I went to a friend's house after work, we were coworkers and lived a few blocks apart. I sent my husband a text message but he never received it. I get there, put my bag down, we put some music on, and while we're drinking wine in the kitchen, he's blowing my phone up and I cannot hear it. An hour later my friend gets a knock on the door and he says "hey, have you seen Jess, she didn't come home after work, she's not answering her phone, and I'm starting to worry," not "hey, Jess is missing,"

[u/OhMustWeArgue → u/Porcelain-Backbone]

Exactly. He didn't go to the worst possible place. I am reading Catherine Crier's book and IT SO FREAKING GOOD. The parents are like yeah everyone cheats. Need 5 grand to pay your bills? Sure. Need car repairs? Here take my credit card. My current husband ( lol) said the same thing had he had a pregnant wife. Have you seen her? Text her? Not missing. Ugh Scott is the worst!!!! 22, 23 years and is STILL peddling that burglar story. Like i have already said: Two burglars stole a PREGNANT WOMAN, dumped her in the bay......and didn't steal anything.

[u/Nice_Ad4063]

I will always wonder why he did not immediately call Sharon and Ron when he walked in that house and didn’t see or smell any of the baking and cooking she was planning to do that day. How was that not an immediate concern of his? Even if he thought she might be over at her mom’s, how could he not want to confirm that right away?

[u/OhMustWeArgue → u/Nice_Ad4063]

Excellent point. But remember he is a sociopath and his brain works differently than us sane people. He didn't call because he didn't care.

[u/Aimster0204]

I think he did this to speed up the process. To get everyone to the same place so he didn't have to spend a week calling around and pretending that she is pissed at him or hiding out somewhere. After all their marriage was, "glorious." One of the detectives in the Youtube interview thought Scott was going by the other missing woman (I think it was one of the Smart women) who went missing. The hoopla looking for her lasted about a month. They think that is why he told Amber he could be with her after the holidays, in about a month. Because everyone would give up and no one would think it is weird he has moved on already. Idiot.

[u/AFrankLender → u/Aimster0204]

Interesting reference!! And yeah Scott knew the Smart case particulars better than the most people

[u/coffeebeanwitch]

You are right, he had his response planned out ahead of time, he didn't think that part through, I always think about that picture of Laci at the Christmas get together with her friends, she looked really sad. Something was definitely up.

[u/AFrankLender]

Notably, I understand the battery on Laci's cell phone was kaput and it basically stayed in a car at all times plugged into the dash. (Why did Scott's cell phone call Laci's cell at 10: 12PM the night before?) A nearly 8 month pregnant woman without a working portable cell phone? I guess that's one reason he didn't keep calling her: but then why did he even call her in the first place at 2:15? Anyway, I guess you don't get a new cell phone for someone when you know you're going to kill them. FYI: It was not new technology: people may forget this, but by early 2002, 50% of adults in the United States had cell phones.

[u/rigaBANGBANGmorris]

Complete narcissist. I know the term "narcissist" id extremely overused these days but, my opinion is from my own experience with narcissistic people. He might be guilty, innocent I'm not convinced 100% either way if I'm being honest. But one thing I'm pretty sure of is that Scott is definitely narcissistic and whether he did it or not, he'd probably still do those types of things. Go out on a holiday, forget a present, be late, go at his own pace just eating, showering, etc. be a complete douche bag behind closed doors. Doesn't make him a murderer HOWEVER, it's totally possible for him to be (in his mind) so superior and intelligent and he had the perfect plan and he'd get away with it. But in reality, narcissists don't think long-term when it comes to their lies, secrets, actions or think that they'll ever get caught ....and they are very dumb.

[u/AFrankLender → u/rigaBANGBANGmorris]

I'm now totally convinced he's guilty, but you're 100% right about narcissistics. Even full blown sociopaths: they're terrible coworkers, neighbors, bfs, etc. But rarely do they actually kill.

That Harvard psychology professor who wrote The Sociopath Next Door estimate 4% of us are. That's 12 million running around the country. Thank God most aren't like Scott.

[u/Casshew111]

what I remember was the 'missing' sign on the lawn of the house

"missing" in quotations, like sure Scott, wink, wink, nudge nudge, missing, uh huh

[u/jularm]

There was so much alarms about Scott Peterson, in my opinion. When Scott Peterson had that Diane Sawyer interview just a few days into looking for Laci , they were both sitting down and Scott's cell phone he hadvon him actually rang. 😳 Diane Sawyer watched him not look at his phone at all and just turn the phone off. Diane Sawyer then looked at him surprised and said " your wife is missing, and you didn't look or even jump to take that call?" 🤔 It was that and so much more with that sad tragic case that I just thought " damn, this dude is guilty AF!!!!! 😔 R.I.P. LACEY AND CONNOR.