REDWOOD CITY, California - A California judge on Wednesday sentenced former fertilizer salesman Scott Peterson to death for the murder of his wife and unborn son in a case that attracted nationwide attention.
Superior Court Judge Alfred Delucchi sentenced Peterson after calling him "cruel, uncaring, heartless and callous."
Earlier, thefamily of his wife, Laci, condemned the prisoner emotionally, prompting Scott Peterson's parents to leave the courtroom.
"Now, Scott Peterson, I say this to you: you deserve to burn in hell for all eternity," Laci Peterson's mother Sharon Rocha told Peterson during her victim-impact testimony. "You deserve to be put to death as soon as possible."
After a half-year trial, a jury in November convicted Peterson, of Modesto, California, of killing his pregnant, 27-year-old wife and their unborn son on Christmas Eve 2002.
The case, with revelations of Peterson's extramarital trysts, deception and cold-blooded murder, generated saturation cable and local television coverage as well as related books.
Peterson, 32, showed little emotion on Wednesday, a cool composure he maintained throughout the trial. At one point he shook his head from side to side to indicate "no" when his mother-in-law said he had murdered Laci Peterson.
The judge also rejected a defence request for a new trial.
Reporters, attorneys, members of the jury and law enforcement officials fought back tears as family members openly sobbed during the 80-minute proceedings.
At one point Sharon Rocha told Peterson what she imagined were the dying thoughts of her daughter and grandson.
"Scott, I want to live, I don't want to die. You deserve to die, Scott," Rocha said. "I think of Conner saying: 'Daddy, why are you killing mommy and me, daddy, please don't kill us. I promise I won't take her away from you. Daddy, please don't, stop."'
Prosecutors say Peterson murdered his eight-months pregnant wife and dumped her body into the San Francisco Bay to maintain his independent lifestyle. The badly mutilated bodies washed up months later, prompting police to arrest Peterson.
