California judge rejects new murder trial for Scott Peterson

REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — A California judge on Tuesday rejected a new murder trial for Scott Peterson, nearly 20 years after he was charged with dumping the bodies of his pregnant wife, Laci, and the unborn child they planned to name Conner into San Francisco Bay on Christmas Eve 2002.

Peterson alleged that the resulting trial that gripped the world was tainted by a rogue juror who lied about her own history of abuse to get on the panel that initially sent him to death row.

Superior Court Judge Anne-Christine Massullo found juror Richelle Nice did not commit enough juror misconduct to require a new trial for Peterson.

Peterson, now 50, can appeal her decision.