American Murder: What happened to Laci Peterson’s dog?

Between Netflix’s American Murder and Peacock’s Face to Face, there’s been a renewed focus on the case, including what happened to Laci and Scott Peterson’s pet dog. 

The new true crime documentaries have emerged as Scott fights for a new trial after he was convicted for the 2002 murder of his wife Laci, who was eight months pregnant with their son Conner. 

The request is ongoing, but the highly-publicized case is back in the court of public opinion following the release of both Netflix and Peacock’s docu-series.

One of the focuses is the Petersons’ golden retriever McKenzie, who was found walking alone with the leash still attached on December 24, 2002 – the day of Laci’s disappearance.

The Petersons’ dog was sent to a new home

After Scott was convicted of murdering Laci, it was revealed that McKenzie was unharmed and sent to live with Scott’s relatives in San Diego.

Netflix

Meanwhile, their two pet cats Siam and Gracie were taken in by Laci’s friend Stacey Boyers after they were found to be safe. 

Speaking to The Modesto Bee in 2007, Mike Rodriguez, director of Stanislaus County Animal Services, said, “There’s a lot of concern about the welfare of those animals.

“I’ve received four calls just today. I’ve heard from people across the country about that.”

Terri Western, a friend of Laci’s family, confirmed, “I know the dog is safe with one of Scott’s relatives.” 

As for the cats, Laci’s friends continued to feed them until they could capture them. They were sent for a medical check-up before moving on to live with Stacey. 

Why McKenzie was important to the case

On the morning of Laci’s disappearance, while Scott was on a fishing trip, their dog was found wandering the neighborhood with a muddy leash still attached. 

Neighbor Karen Servas found McKenzie and returned him to the Petersons’ yard, not thinking much of it. 

Netflix

According to Modesto police detective Al Brocchini, Scott’s timeline of events raised suspicion. 

After returning from his fishing trip, Scott told him that the only things amiss were that their door was unlocked and the dog’s leash was still attached. 

However, he also said he put a clothes wash on, ate a slice of pizza, drank some milk, took a shower, and then called Laci’s mom Sharon to say she was missing. 

During the trial, the prosecution and the defense presented two conflicting theories about what happened. The latter suggested that Laci had taken McKenzie for a walk that morning after Scott had left to go fishing and that she had gone missing during this time.

However, prosecutors argued that Laci wouldn’t have gone out with the dog as she was heavily pregnant. Her friends testified in court that Laci had stopped exercising for this reason after receiving a recommendation from her doctor.

The aforementioned friend Stacey said at the time, “Every time she would start to do something, she would have to stop and rest.”

Meanwhile, Laci’s prenatal yoga instructor Debra Wolski stated, “She could barely walk… she was in pain… she needed help getting back to the car.”

While numerous witnesses claimed to have seen a pregnant woman walking a dog on the morning of Christmas Eve, 2002, they did not testify in court. 

This was because these sightings were after 10:18am, the time Karen said she put McKenzie back in the Petersons’ yard. 

Although this is being followed up in Scott’s ongoing attempt to get a retrial, Brocchini says in Face to Face with Scott Peterson, “Anybody who says they saw Laci walking the dog got interviewed.”

Fellow Modesto detective Jon Buehler adds, “Eyewitness testimony is very subjective. It would be very easy for a witness to want to be helpful, to claim later that they saw Laci, when actually they didn’t, it was a mistaken identity thing.

“Or, more sinister, they wanted to get involved in this because it was high-profile, it was in the news. We had a few things like that that popped up… If we had the wrong guy in prison, we’d want to know about it.”

American Murder: Laci Peterson is streaming on Netflix now, while Face to Face with Scott Peterson is on Peacock. To read more on the case, here are five disturbing details you should know.