(NewsNation) — Two decades after Scott Peterson was convicted for the murders of his wife and unborn child, the Los Angeles Innocence Project is reexamining his case, and there might be new evidence to investigate.
Peterson was identified as the prime suspect in the death of his wife, Laci, who was eight months pregnant when it was revealed he was having an affair with another woman.
Now, there are reports of an orange van spotted across the street from Scott and Laci Peterson’s home around the time that Laci vanished on Christmas Eve 2002. The report comes from a former California fire official who claimed he investigated the burnt van.
Pictures of the van show it had a mattress in the back, which could contain possible blood or DNA evidence.
Bryan Spitulski, a former fire investigator with the Modesto Fire Department, told ABC News the van was found on Christmas Day 2002, the day after Laci Peterson vanished, in an alley in the airport district of Modesto.
At the time, police tracked down a different van, which the Department of Justice later cleared.
“This has always been one of those things that kind of sits in the back of your head and kind of bugs you a little bit. You kind of wonder why this didn’t happen, or why it wasn’t brought up,” Spitulski told ABC News.
“You know, I don’t know that I was tying the moment to Laci. I was more tying the moment that it was human blood,” Spitulski said. “It made it like this was much more important than just a burned vehicle that somebody was just wanting to get rid of or cover up a simple crime.”
Now, the Innocence Project has filed a motion to have items from that van tested or re-tested for DNA evidence that attorneys believe could yield post-conviction discovery in the decades-old case.
Peterson’s family has been working to get him a new trial for years. His sister-in-law Janey Peterson has maintained Scott’s innocence, collecting photos and evidence to build Scott’s timeline. Janey Peterson believes a burglary that happened across the street may have included a van parked outside the Petersons’ home the day Laci vanished.
Investigators say Scott Peterson dumped Laci’s body during a fishing trip before it was found on the San Francisco shoreline. But his family says the burglars are the ones who placed her there, knowing the fishing trip was Scott Peterson’s only alibi.