Amber Frey, like most people, is not without her contradictions. In Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution of Scott Peterson, Frey presents her story in the bizarre Scott Peterson case. At the same time Peterson wooed her, he captured the nation’s attention with the story of his missing pregnant wife, Laci. With so much written about Frey, her relationship with Peterson, and her role in the prosecution, she clearly wanted to have the last word. Frey begins the story with her instant infatuation with Peterson and ends with her transformation into the one person who could somehow bring about justice for Laci and her baby. She had, for many, become “Laci’s voice.” While Frey attempts to portray herself as a heroine, a portrayal she buttresses with quotes from friends, detectives, and even members of Laci’s family, Frey readily admits to having some serious warts and flaws.
If anything, Amber Frey tells a cautionary tale. Here is a woman who, in the beginning, is seemingly very lucky. Her best friend has found the perfect man for Frey. He is charming, witty, handsome, single, and ready to settle down; he is perfect. He is also too good to be true. But her best friend has vouched for the man and Frey accepts a blind date. She lets her guard down and quickly—albeit too quickly—enters into a relationship that is to change her life forever.
While the speed of Frey’s deepening relationship with Peterson is breathtaking, it is the complicated web of lies and deceit by Peterson that is truly staggering. It’s as though he concocted an alternate reality. He spun tales of life in Sacramento, family holidays in Maine, travels abroad and a heart that is unattached and ready for love. Even when Frey learned he lied about his marriage and his “lost” wife, she is still ensnared by his deceit. It’s not until the national media pushes Peterson into the limelight that Frey suddenly finds herself a player in what is to become a bizarre murder case.
To her credit, once she realized her Scott Peterson was the Scott Peterson appearing on TV pleading for the return of his lost pregnant wife, she contacted the police and agreed to help in the investigation. The transcripts of Frey’s phone conversations with Peterson are in the book. Reading their conversations made me wonder why he continued to call and talk to her, particularly after her public announcement about their relationship and her contact with the police.
Article comments
1 - Anna
The title is a take off of an Agatha Christie short story and play. It's appropriate for this use, but lucky for us that the similarities end before the trial ends. In the Christie mystery, the wife pretends to hate her husband so that her accusations of his guilt would be dismissed and he would be acquitted, and she is successful.
2 - Wanda Sappington
I don't think Scott Peterson was going after Amber. I think the reason he called her so many times after she went to the police was an attempt to see if she had anything to do with Laci's disappearance. Scott may have killed Lace, but it was not proven to that he did. I think he was having a fling while his wife was 8 months pregnant and not looking so sexy. I don't think he planned to leave her at all. As for his lies, well there are thousands of men out there who can lie big time when they are having an affair.
3 - DrPat
Most people who have had any direct contact with Scott Petersen since the time when his wife Laci became pregnant have commented on his charm, and also his willingness to lie. In this, he resembles Ted Bundy and so many other sociopaths who murdered women.
Did you you know that Ted Bundy continued to receive love letters and offers of marriage right up to the time he was executed? Such amoral and charming liars seem to have a power to short-circuit a woman's better judgement.
Amber Frey is lucky that she made the right choice when Petersen's lies came to light. She might have been like Wanda Sappington, deluding herself that he was a good person anyway, just a grieving husband having an affair.
Without her testimony, Scott might have gotten away with his crime. And the chilling evidence found in his trunk indicates that Amber Frey would have regretted it to the end of her life - which would have come, if not the day Scott was arrested, then later, perhaps when she herself became pregnant.
4 - Dawn
That's funny you should notice that Dr. Pat about Wanda, after I read her statement I was struck with how deluded and pathetic she sounded and that perhaps she was hoping that maybe they could have a "relationship" from behind bars.
Are there that few good men around that anyone could be so desperate?
Nice review by the way.
And I for one can't wait to see Scott put to death.
5 - vikk
Anna, thanks for the note about the title and Agatha Christie. No wonder it had such a familar ring. :)
6 - swingingpuss
I had watched Amber Fry cry her crocodile tears during the Oprah winfrey show and heard her say that she had become Lacy's voice. If thats true then whatever royalties she is getting from her book should be given to Lacy's family.
She is an opportunist who made a quick buck on some else's tragedy. Shame on her.
7 - Lono
How can I put this delicately? I can not discount her as a major suspect in this whole thing, personally. Even if she wasn't involved... she knew.
she knew
8 - raya
You no what i dont think he did it becaues there are to much stuff left unsaid so i am sorry for the family of lacy but i dont think he did it...now if you are gonig to do your jobs do it right
9 - Jennifer
I have a comment to make to Raya. When you know something it is spelled know, not no. You don't think Scott Peterson is guilty? When his wife went missing he stayed with his sister and did not attempt to look for his missing wife while staying with her. He first told police he was golfing, then turned it to a last minute fishing trip, however, he purchased a ticket at the marina four days prior, but it was last minute. He was arrested with facial hair and brown hair that turned orange, he claims from a pool and $15,000.00, which his crazy mother claims was for the attorneys. I am sure his attorneys were paid well over $15K. He lied and told Amber he was in Paris on New Years, when he was talking to her and telling her how he loved her and wanted to be with her, while he was, in fact, at his missing wife's vigil. Do the math, it is common sense.
10 - DrPat
The jury (seeing ALL the evidence) saw enough to convince them "beyond reasonable doubt" that Scott Peterson killed his wife. That's why he's on death row now.
There's little point in trying to convince the hopelessly closed of mind, Jennifer - Raya is like many other women who cannot see beyond a charming façade to the slime beneath. (See comment #2 as well.)
11 - linda
Not enough solid, sound evidence to convince me "beyond reasonable doubt" that Scott did this. He may have, but way to many conclusions have been drawn. Yes 1 and 1 is 2, but I hear of too many wrongful convictions. In a high profile case, the police want to look good and catch their man. Amber Frey...well she wants to be "Lacie's Voice"...sounds to me like she thought she was wife Lacie's BODY on the very first date!!!
12 - DrPat
linda, you have not seen any more evidence than I have - neither of us were on the jury! However, even I know that Amber did not know there was a wife when she began dating Scott.
This became a high-profile case (instead of a simple missing-person issue) when Amber Frey came forward to let police know of Scott's "other life."
13 - JOHN
On Capital Punishment:
Why do people, kill the people, who have killed other people, because killing people is wrong?????????
14 - DrPat
One philosophy is, that in committing murder, the killer has abrogated the social contract that precludes killing. Hence, killing the killer is not wrong; in a very real sense, it is his own choice.
15 - ray
I don't think Amber Frey deserves any "cudos" for coming forward. I think it was just a case of "beating the police to the punch". Let's face it, they had all Scott's cell phone bills and all the telephone numbers he called, sooner or later, they would have uncovered the Amber Frey affair. Then she really would have looked guilty! I'm not in anyway saying she is, but common sense and not courage, or being some kind of hero, would warrant her to come forward.
16 - SUZETTE
I just got done reading Amber's book and it was amazed at how so many other people felt her to be a "hero" and a person of "courage". If her desperation to find a boyfriend and willingness to get intimate on a first date weren't there, she would have never been in her circumstances to begin with. She referred to herself as a Christian and even quotes bible versus in her book. She needed to quote the verse "the marriage bed undefiled". Also, what kind of person lets someone they dated once, pick up their daughter at school, which she also did! Come on is Amber really a poor victim, hero, and person of courage. She needs to examine her part in getting into the whole mess with Scott Peterson.
17 - Brittany
The entire time I read this book I was extremely irritated. The whole time, Amber Frey whines about all that she is going through with the media and how she wants to just live her life normal..blah blah blah. Who cares? Laci's family just lost someone they love and care about along with her unborn baby and she wants to whine about the MEDIA? She also seemed a bit permiscuous as well, sleeping with Scott on the first night and then getting involved with someone else so quickly.
I have SO much I could say about this woman that I just can't type it all or it would take all day.
18 - A Voice of Sanity
A careful examination of Peterson's life shows that he is the exact opposite of someone with APD (sociopath). Further, all of the actual evidence proves the impossibility of his involvement in Laci's abduction and death. Endless repetition of the mindless comments of pontificators on TV is not factual discussion, merely playing the parrot. As for Peterson's lies, lying to your bedmate is not evidence of murder, nor is adultery. Assume that he shaved his head into a Mohawk, had his hair dyed rainbow colours, wore a tutu and hiking boots and told everyone that he was the King of Siam and that he could leap tall buildings at a single bound. Exactly how would that make him guilty of murder?
19 - Alice
Amber had 3 pregnancy without being married and had two affairs with married men as told in this book. What she did not write about is that she did not know who the Father of Alyianna and let a man who was not the Father think he was as well as the man mother and went after child support from him. he took her to court and it was found out it was another man who was the Father. it is rumoured that Scott found a pair of red boots at this house and he recognized these as Amber so he knew she knew something about laci disappearance.
20 - alicea
the person in charge of taping the wire taps on scott and amber phone felt there was a solicitor for a kidnapping or murder of lacie , where are those phone re-cording to give that view or was it to get a new court order to keep on listening. Amber has been played on she does not seem to be the stay at home and wait for the guy to phone her she had a sister that lived in modesto not far from scott home unbeknown to her yet the woman never heard of the missing lacie-peterson all over the news until brought to her attention by her cop friend the one she ask for help in checking him out, not even at her job or clients where people talk of all kinds of subjects, yes she thought scott was out of the country yet she never made the connection or brought it up to scott when she was not yet recording him but she started to on december16 2002, she was doing what she had done before to catch a married man lying to her to get proof in case she need to get back at them.