Some murder cases fade from memory, but not the murder of Laci Peterson and her unborn child, Conner. Plus, it had a villain too smooth to be believed and a lie too big to hold. Director Michael R. Santana’s Brocchini & Buehler: The Investigation Of Scott Peterson tells it through the eyes of the two men whose job was to prove what the whole country suspected.
On December 24th, 2002, Laci Peterson vanished from her home in Modesto, California. She was 8 1/2 months pregnant with her first child, a boy she and her husband, Scott Peterson, had already named Conner. Scott told police his wife had planned to walk their dog McKenzie at nearby East La Loma Park while he went fishing at the Berkeley Marina, some 90 miles away. The story of a missing pregnant woman on Christmas Eve became a national sensation, and Scott was the caring husband hoping for the return of his wife.
Detective Al Brocchini and Detective Jon Buehler of the Modesto Police Department were assigned to the case from the start. Their interactions with Peterson were cordial at first, as they told him their job was to ultimately rule him out as a suspect as long as his alibi held up. Their investigation into Peterson was beginning to stall until they received the fateful call from Peterson’s mistress, Amber Frey. They worked with Frey, recording phone calls that caught Peterson playing the part of the grieving husband — even claiming to be in Paris on New Year’s Eve while he was actually at a candlelight vigil for Laci.
“Their investigation into Peterson was beginning to stall until they received the fateful call from Peterson’s mistress, Amber Frey.”
From here, Brocchini and Buehler walk us through all the twists and turns of the case from their perspective as the police investigators. After the revelation of Peterson’s affair with Amber Frey, their relationship with him went cold. As evidence of a possible murder mounted, Brocchini and Buehler felt like they had a case, but the problem was that there were no bodies. Then the bodies showed up, and a police chase ended with Peterson’s arrest. We then walk through the trial where Brocchini and Buehler’s reputations were on the line, and they faced potential jail time for leaks to the press.
If you were around at the time, you know about the case of Laci and Scott Peterson. It was on the news constantly, and public loyalty kept swaying for and against Scott Peterson. Countless documentaries have been made, and even Dean Cain played Peterson in the USA drama The Perfect Husband: The Laci Peterson Story.
What makes Brocchini & Buehler: The Investigation Of Scott Peterson probably the best documentary on the case is that you are hearing the story directly from the two police investigators on the case. You can’t get better access than this. Even if they were able to speak to Peterson, his words would be suspect. The two were in the trenches. They spoke to Peterson. They spoke to Amber Frey. They dealt with the DA and judges in the case. They lived through the attempted character assassinations and tabloid eviscerations. This documentary features solely interviews with detectives Al Brocchini and Jon Buehler, which means you get more facts about the case and less conjecture than other documentaries, depending on your bias as to whether to trust cops or not.
The Laci Peterson murder is one of the most sensationalized cases of this millennium, and documentarian Michael R. Santana rightfully chooses to avoid the sensational for just the facts.
For screening information, visit the Brocchini & Buehler: The Investigation Of Scott Peterson official website.
"…they faced potential jail time for leaks to the press."
