Laci Peterson's husband Scott stands accused of the crime of murdering his wife and unborn son. Meanwhile, earlier this week, in an exclusive interview, "Today" host Katie Couric sat down with Laci's mother Sharon Rocha, Laci's step-father Ron Grantski and Laci's half-sister Amy to talk about how their lives have been forever changed.
A DAUGHTER, SISTER AND FRIEND
"THERE ARE MANY times that I wake up in the middle of the night. I just wake up and I just start crying because I realize that… Laci's gone and that I'll never see her again," says Sharon Rocha.
Katie Couric: "What words would you use to describe her?"
Sharon Rocha: "Outgoing, she was full of life. Laci had a project going at all times, everyday."
Ron Grantski: "She was like a roman candle. She was always somewhere doing something."
Amy Rocha: "She made you feel good about yourself."
Couric: "How about her sense of humor I understand when she was little she did a video parody TV commercials with friends."
Sharon: "I just watched that recently. She liked to dance. It reminded me so much of when she was younger."
Laci had the all American life that many people envy. A cheerleader at Downey High School, her freshman science teacher Bob Starling remembers a "B" student with an "A" personality.
"I can just tell you when she came into a room it did brighten up. She'd come in and chat about anything. She was one of those special people that you never forget."
Laci was a distinguished student at college when she met her future husband Scott Peterson.
Sharon: "They were kind to each other. They seemed to enjoy each other."
Ron: "They did almost everything together."
They were married in 1997. After trying for more than a year, Laci got pregnant.
Sharon: "By 7:00 am on Sunday, June 9th, I think everyone of her friends and family knew."
Couric: "Everyone in Modesto?"
Sharon: "Everyone in Modesto knew Laci was pregnant."
Laci and her mother were always extremely close and now with the baby on the way, they were getting together several times a week.
"She couldn't wait to find out what sex the baby was, because she wanted to get the room decorated and it was like, the day she was told she was having a boy, she called me, okay mom. Now we can go shopping. Now, we can get everything we need for the boy's room," says Sharon.
She recalled the last time she saw Laci.
"She asked me to put my hand on her stomach to feel the baby kick and I did , but it never did feel him move so I put my face down to her stomach, my ear to her stomach and I said, 'hello little Connor,' I said, 'your nanna loves you.' [I] said, 'I'm waiting to see you,' and she said, 'we haven't completely decided on Connor yet,' she said they 'were thinking we might name him Logan' and then that was the last we talked about it."
A FAMILY'S GRIEF
Couric: "Many people think that the defense team is sort of letting things trickle out that will plant seeds of doubt in the minds of perspective jurors."
Ron: "That's… just another part of this nightmare, I guess."
Couric: "I guess the same might go for the theory that's been floated by the defense that perhaps a satanic cult was involved in Laci's disappearance."
Sharon: "Oh that's his theory."
Couric: "Sharon, you gave a heart wrenching statement, following Scott's arraignment. How tough was that for you?"
Sharon: "Extremely."
During her statement, Sharon says, "Laci and her unborn child didn't deserve to die."
Sharon: "I was determined to get through that. I think Laci was what got me through that, because at one point, I didn't think I was going to be able to finish, but… I felt she was there."
During Scott's arraignment, Sharon says, "I can only hope that the sound of Laci's voice begging for her life and begging for the life of her unborn child is heard over and over again in the mind of that person every day for the rest of his life."
Couric: "You never once mentioned Scott's name in that statement."
Sharon: "It wasn't about Scott. It was about Laci."
Couric: "You said, in a statement, that you felt sorry for Jack and Lee Peterson and their family and they didn't deserve this."
Ron: "There's two families that are suffering for different reasons, and we'll keep on suffering for a long time."