Peterson: 'It's Been Incredibly Brutal'
Missing Woman's Husband Speaks With Local Reporters

POSTED: 5:28 p.m. PST January 29, 2003
UPDATED: 6:28 p.m. PST January 29, 2003

MODESTO, Calif. -- Under suspicion by the public and under scrutiny by the police, Scott Peterson spoke out again Wednesday about his missing pregnant wife, Laci, and again said he had nothing to do with her disappearance on Christmas Eve.

Scott Peterson Speaks

It was in a national interview Tuesday with ABC's Dianne Sawyer that Peterson first spoke at length about the case and his affair with a Fresno woman, On Wednesday he spoke again, this time with Bay Area television station NBC11.

"Obviously, yes I had a romantic relationship that was inappropriate and unfair to a lot of people, and I apologized to everyone involved with that. It had nothing to do with Laci's disappearance. I had nothing to do with Laci's disappearance, and we need to start looking for her again," Peterson told NBC11.

He also talked about how he's been dealing with his wife's disappearance.

"It's been incredibly brutal. During the day I know what to do. With the volunteer center, the core group of volunteers we continue to have to work to keep her picture out there through the groups and corporations and organizations. In the evenings I don't know what to do. Those are the dark hours when I lose it and I can't sleep, I go to exhaustion occasionally and get a couple of hours. But it's the dark, silent hours when I don't know what to do that are the hardest part," Peterson said.

Peterson also responded to a question about his previous silence.

"My silence previously was intended to keep the media involved in this case. It's a rationale that we developed after perhaps the third day she was missing. We know from experience of others ... that it's up to the family to keep the media. That's our biggest tool is the media. At this point, unfortunately, it has reached a point where suspicion of me is keeping people from searching for Laci," he said.

The case continues to draw interest from around the state and around the country.

Los Angeles radio station KFI-AM took its show live to the Peterson home Wednesday.

"We've been following this story from L.A. since it began like everyone else. As things begin to heat up, we want to come here, see what we can do," KFI-AM anchor Laura Ingle said.

During a national interview Wednesday, Peterson responded to questions about the $250,000 life insurance police he took out on his wife.

He said he and Laci both took out life insurance policies when they bought their home two years ago.

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