MODESTO, Calif., Nov. 18 -- A judge Tuesday ordered Scott Peterson to stand trial on murder charges in the death of his pregnant wife, Laci, whose headless and limbless body washed ashore in April, four months after she disappeared on Christmas Eve.
The ruling was expected, and Peterson's reaction was subdued.
Peterson, 31, a fertilizer salesman, has pleaded not guilty to the murder of his wife, 27, and their unborn son, Conner, whose body also washed out of San Francisco Bay in April.
During the pretrial hearings, prosecutors had presented a mostly circumstantial case suggesting that Peterson was so infatuated with his mistress, Amber Frey, that he killed his wife, who was eight months pregnant, and dumped her body in the bay.
