REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- A California jury Friday found Scott Peterson guilty of the 2002 murders of his pregnant wife, Laci, and their unborn son. The two murder convictions mean Peterson could get the death penalty when he is sentenced.
Peterson was found guilty of first-degree murder in his wife's death and second-degree murder in the death of their unborn child, Conner Peterson.
The panel also declared Peterson guilty of the special circumstance of multiple murder, which qualifies him for the death penalty.
A large crowd of spectators and reporters swarmed around the Redwood City courthouse where the reading of the verdict was carried over loudspeakers.
The defendant's distraught mother, Jackie, had to leave the courtroom before the verdict was read.
The prosecution's largely circumstantial case theorized Peterson killed his wife in their Modesto home on Dec. 23, 2002 and then took her body to San Francisco Bay, where he dumped her into the murky waters from his small boat.
