Laci Peterson

Five people will share a $50,000 reward for finding the bodies of Laci and Conner Peterson along the shore of the San Francisco Bay nearly two years ago. The Carole Sund/Carrington Foundation will present the reward Friday at the Modesto Police Department. Officer Rick Applegate said he could not release the names of the people who would receive the reward but said five would share the money.

Scott Peterson, the 32-year-old fertilizer salesman convicted of murdering his wife and unborn son, was sentenced to death Wednesday morning in a chilling courtroom drama tailor-made for a case that has transfixed the nation. Speaking on behalf of her dead daughter, Sharon Rocha looked Peterson in the eye and told him what she believed went through Laci Peterson's mind as she was murdered and her body dumped in San Francisco Bay -- words, Rocha said, that she hoped would "haunt you forever."

Taxpayers spent more than $2.64 million to convict Scott Peterson of the murders of his wife and unborn son and put him on death row, the Modesto Bee reported. The Stanislaus County district attorney's office reported Friday that it spent $672,507, not including the salaries of three prosecutors and other employees. Modesto police estimate that they spent $1 million investigating the Christmas 2002 disappearance of Laci Peterson. Court costs totaled $742,000.

Modesto Police Chief Roy Wasden and the mother of slain teacher Laci Peterson went to the state Capitol on Tuesday seeking reimbursement for the $1.5 million police spent on the Scott Peterson investigation. Wasden said if his department doesn't get the money soon, it may mean fewer officers on the streets. Sharon Rocha said she accompanied the chief because she wanted to make sure other investigations receive the same level of attention and commitment.

Prospective buyers bidding on the modest "cottage-bungalow" where Scott Peterson probably killed his pregnant wife, Laci, are willing to pay more than the asking price, said the real estate agent handling the sale. Peterson has been sentenced to death for the crime. Agent Mary Prieto isn't giving out the name of the buyers or saying how much more than the asking price of $379,996 they're willing to pay. She said she would release that information when escrow closes.

A judge has ruled that the $250,000 life insurance policy that Scott Peterson took out on his wife will go to her mother. Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Roger Beauchesne said Friday that because Scott Peterson was convicted of killing his pregnant wife, Laci, and the fetus she carried in 2002, he is not entitled to collect the benefits of her life insurance. The judge said the money should go to the executor of her estate, who is her mother, Sharon Rocha.

Double murder charges will stand against Scott Peterson in the killings of his pregnant wife and the son she was carrying, a judge ruled this week, rejecting a defense motion to dismiss the charges. Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Marie Silveira denied the motion to toss out the charges on defense claims that prosecutors did not present enough evidence of a crime during a preliminary hearing last year.

The murder trial of Scott Peterson was moved to San Mateo County Tuesday after a Superior Court judge reaffirmed that a fair trial wasn't possible in Modesto, the hometown of Peterson's dead wife. Stanislaus County Judge Al Girolami said Tuesday that San Mateo County was the best choice. He said it was far enough away that local hostilities toward Peterson would not taint the jury pool but close enough for the parade of Modesto witnesses to commute.

A retired Bay Area judge who has heard such high-profile criminal cases as the murder trial of activist Angela Davis was selected to preside over the murder trial of suspected wife-killer Scott Peterson, court officials announced Wednesday. Richard E. Arnason, 82, a Contra Costa County judge known for exercising tight control over his courtroom and the media, was chosen to hear the Peterson case by California Chief Justice Ronald M. George.

Retired Alameda County Judge Alfred A. Delucchi was selected Tuesday to preside over Scott Peterson's murder trial, a week after another judge was challenged by prosecutors. A trial judge for more than three decades, Delucchi, 72, retired in 1998 after serving in Alameda County for 15 years. He has been an active judge since his retirement and has continued to preside over trials.