High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles! The Murder of Laci Peterson took place in 2002. Laci Peterson, born Laci Denise Rocha, was the subject of a highly discussed murder case after she went missing while seven and a half months pregnant with her first child. Laci was reportedly last seen alive on December 24, 2002. Her husband, Scott Peterson, was convicted of murder in the first degree for Laci, and in the second degree for their prenatal son. Scott is currently on death row at San Quentin State Prison. Laci Denise Rocha was born in Modesto, California. Her parents, Dennis Robert Rocha and Sharon Ruth Anderson, met in high school and married shortly after graduation. Their first child, Brent Rocha, was born in 1971. Laci was the couple's second child, born in 1975. Her parents separated after Laci's first birthday. Dennis later remarried and had another daughter, Amy. Laci grew up visiting her father's dairy farm in Escalon, California, and she was a cheerleader in junior high and high school. After graduating from Thomas Downey High School, Laci attended California Polytechnic State University.