Blood Brother: 33 Reasons My Brother Scott Peterson Is Guilty

By Anne Bird

Book Overview

The story no-one else can tell. Scott Peterson's sister gives her account of his marriage and his disturbing behaviour - and tells how she realised that her brother was capable of murder. What happens if, after being given up for adoption in childhood, you reestablish contact with your biological family - only to discover that your true brother is a killer? Anne Bird, the sister of Scott Peterson, knows first-hand. Soon after her birth in 1965, Anne was given up for adoption by her mother, Jackie Latham. Welcomed into the well-adjusted Grady family, she lived a happy life. Then, in the late 1990s, she got back in contact with her mother - now married - and her family, including Jackie's son, Scott Peterson, and his wife, Laci. Over the next several years, Anne shared the Petersons' holidays, family reunions, trips to Disneyland. Anne and Laci became pregnant at roughly the same time, and the two became confidantes. On Christmas Eve 2002, Laci Peterson went missing, and the happy facade of the Peterson family began to crumble. Anne helped in the search for Laci; Scott even stayed in her home while police tried to find his wife. Noticing Scott's bizarre behaviour, Anne grew suspicious that her brother knew more than he was telling. Then Laci's body - and that of her unborn son, Conner - were found . Had Scott Peterson murdered his wife and child in cold blood? Filled with newsmaking revelations and intimate glimpses of Scott and Laci, Blood Brother is an account of how long-dormant family ties dragged one woman into one of the most notorious crimes of our time.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0060838574
• ISBN13: 9780060838577
• Release Date: March 2005
• Publisher: William Morrow & Company
• Length: 224 Pages
• Weight: 1.05 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Not a favorite

Quick, easy read, read it in less then two days. At one point I became disallusioned with Ann, with all the evidence she had available she still refused to admit the obvious which almost cost her her marriage. I really couldn’t understand the quick connection she had with Scott, if she had grown up knowing and developing a relationship with him I might have understood more fully her commitment of support. And even after he was found guilty it was hard for her to remove herself from him, still visiting him in prison. It was unbelievable how Ann kept supporting Scott by allowing him to live with her even under her husbands objections, how she offered her parents cabin to him and most of all how she gave him a key to her adoptive parents home where he stayed, without their knowledge, while they were out of the country. Her “biological” mother was someone I would have never invested much time in, what type of person keeps having children she gives away. Even after the first two children she gave up she had another who did remain with her and was raised by the man she eventually married. She never did give Ann a reason for giving her up, Ann seemed more committed to that relationship then did Jackie. Finally no mention was ever given as to whether Ann still retained a relationship with her biological mother, and her biological siblings. I thought the whole family was shallow.

Bird’s eye view

Loved this view of the Peterson family and Scott and Laci before the murder. Scott’s behavior during the time she was missing - especially during the trip to Disneyland and the time Scott and Anne were hanging out together in San Diego and Berkeley- is very informative. You feel a bit sorry for Anne, so ferociously intent on proving that she didn’t deserve to be “abandoned” by Jackie & defensive about what a great life she had with her adoptive parents but obviously she was better off than she would have been had Jackie kept her, both in terms of finances, a stable home etc. It’s understandable she paints her birth mother in a less than favorable light, considering her hurt feelings that she wasn’t kept by her mom, which is also part of the picture. Bird’s story is the only place you will read that Scott and Laci didn’t get along. Well, unless you read the self published book “I’m sorry I lied to you” by Karen Thomas, Scott’s innocence project lawyer who had quite a lot to say about the Peterson’s relationship based on their chats in San Quentin. But Bird’s has the benefit of being truthful and well written and she gets no glee or revenge out of showing how she arrives at the conclusion that her brother killed his wife, or his basic disinterest in Laci’s whereabouts. Bird has no real evidence as such, but in terms of Scott’s “demeanor” there is plenty to make you go “hm” as you put the puzzle pieces together on this crime. I do feel sorry for her and for her birth mother, to have such a hard beginning to life and then a sorrow like this when you finally find each other again as a family.

Told from a unique perspective

This story combined two topics fascinating to me, true crime and siblings raised apart. The author was given up for adoption as an infant. She had loving parents, siblings and extended family. One day a stranger called her, another infant given up. This new found brother encourages her to meet her birth mother and two other siblings raised by their birth mother. She grows especially close to her newly found brother Scott and his wife Laci. Eventually Scott was convicted of killing his wife and unborn child. It was an interesting dynamic with the birth mother and nature versus nurture in the choices we make. Told from a unique perspective journalists just didn't have.

An insight into the forces that shaped Scott Peterson

I'd considered reading this but never bought until yesterday when the Petersons screamed at Laci's grieving brother while he was on the stand. I felt like their ongoing denial helped create this soul-less guy and I bought this on the way home from work. This book convinced me of what I already believed. I read it very quickly. I do not fault Anne Bird for writing this book; I do, however, feel sad that her birth family caused her so much anguish and that she was forced to confront that a brother she loved was so evil and that her family life suffered as a result. Her "reasons" were not what compelled me to read this. Understanding the psychology of Scott Peterson's family was, and Anne Bird provided this. Anne, I am glad your adoptive family raised you differently than you would have been raised otherwise. You are not wrong to turn your back on a man who killed a pregnant woman and his near-term baby and those who would defend him at any cost. I, too, am adopted. If being a member of any family requires you to look away from and defend evil, then bless you for not wanting to pay that price of admission.

An Honest Account

Ms. Bird has written from the heart. The reader who is looking for irrefutable evidence of Scott's guilt or innocence will be disappointed. However, as a Peterson clan insider, Ms. Bird does buttress the circumstantial case against Scott with her own direct observations. The story is all the more compelling because Ms. Bird initially believed in Scott's innocence. Most admirable, Bird does not use heavy-handed tactics to sway the reader to her view of Scott's guilt. Rather, she lets events and circumstances of which she had first-hand knowledge speak for themselves. The photographs included in the book were helpful. Ms. Bird obviously had deep affection for Laci, and we learn more about Laci, the woman. Bird also offers a theory as to how Scott committed the murder which is quite convincing. The book is not meant to stand as the definitive account of the Laci Peterson murder. Instead, it is the tale of how the tragic events impacted one woman close to the epicenter. It's a human story, and the book accomplishes what it sets out to do. I sincerely hope Ms. Bird is healing from this aftermath of her involvement with her birth family.

With a mother like that . . .

As much as I admire Amber Frey, her book added little to what was already known about Scott Peterson and his family. Anne Bird's book, on the other hand, tells us lots we didn't know. I won't give away any details, but Scott's mother, Jackie Peterson, is revealed to be just about as big a sociopath as Scott. A very fast read; I read it in one sitting. If you're a Peterson trial junkie, this is a must read!

Excellent, honest

This is an excellent, honest account from a sister who wanted to believe Scott Peterson was innocent. Tremendous read and very heartfelt.

Blood Brother- Chilling

Thank you Mrs. Bird for writing this book. You have provided a terrific insight to the Latham/Peterson family dynamic. Your account of events leading up to and after Laci's disappearance is chilling. I was stunned at Scott's self centered, spoiled brat behavior as well as Jackies seemingly mean spirited remarks about Laci. I read this book in less than a day. I could not put it down. May God bless you and your family.