Photo: Al Golub-POOL/Getty
WhenScott Petersonhad his day in court on Wednesday, the family of his slain wife, Laci, had a lot to say to him.
“For 19 years, their outrage has just grown and grown,” a friend close to Laci’s family tells PEOPLE. “And it was time to let it out. The hearing was like releasing some pressure that has been building up for a very long time. They got to look Scott in the eyes and tell him what they really thought of him — not that it was a surprise to him.”
Peterson, now 49, was convicted in 2005 of two counts of first-degree murder of Laci andtheir unborn son, Conner. He was sentenced to death row, where he remained for years.
But in court on Wednesday, Peterson wasresentenced to life in prison. During the hour-long hearing, Laci’s family confronted him about his actions.
The most pointed words came from Laci’s mother, Sharon Rocha. Addressing Peterson directly, she angrily confronted him about her daughter’s death.
“You betrayed her, your son and everyone else,” Sharon Rocha said. “You ended two beautiful souls.”
Family photo via The Modesto Bee/AP.
“All the while we were there that evening you were already planning her murder,” Sharon said to Peterson. “That evening was the last time I saw my daughter alive.”
“Two things will never change,” she told Peterson. “Laci and Connor will always be dead and you will always be their murderer.”
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The family friend tells PEOPLE that the Rochas chose their words carefully — and they spent a long time planning what they were going to say, including giving each other tips about how to best articulate their feelings.
Now, the family is “exhausted,” says the friend, and they’re spending time together.
“Every year, they commemorate Laci and Conner during December, so they’ll keep doing that this month,” she says. “In many ways, they believe that what they did today was the most significant commemoration they could possibly have done.”
source: people.com
