Scott Peterson, speaking from death row for the first time in more than 10 years, said he "had no idea" he would actually be convicted for murdering his wife Laci and unborn child. He still proclaims his innocence.
Peterson's comments came in a prison call between Peterson, now 44, and his sister-in-law Janey, which will be part of a six-episode series on the case that will air on A&E starting Tuesday, People magazine reported.
The disappearance of pregnant Laci Peterson, 27, from Modesto, California on Dec. 24, 2002, and Scott Peterson's conviction on Nov. 12, 2004, fueled mainstream media and gossip tabloid.
"The media's obsession with the Scott Peterson trial was unlike anything seen before," said Elaine Frontain Bryant, executive vice president and head of programming at the A&E Network.
"This new series will cut through the mass hysteria that has plagued and distorted the reporting of this story to deliver, for the first time, a definitive factual account by those who lived and breathed it every day."
People said Peterson was convicted of first- and second-degree murder counts in a mostly circumstantial case in which authorities charged he killed Laci Peterson and their unborn child before tossing their bodies in the San Francisco Bay.
The new series promises "unprecedented access" to Scott Peterson, who has maintained his innocence, and his family, People said.
In one recording, Peterson described the physical reaction he had to hearing the 2004 verdict
"I couldn't feel my feet on the floor," said Peterson, per People. "I couldn't feel the chair I was sitting in. My vision was even a little blurry. And I just had this weird sensation that I was falling forward — and forward and down and there was going to be no end to this falling forward and down, like there was no floor to land on. I was staggered by it. I had no idea it was coming."
The Modesto Bee said the series will feature Amber Frey, Scott Peterson's reported girlfriend at the time of Laci Peterson's disappearance. She eventually testified for the prosecution.
Modesto police detectives Jon Buehler and Ed Steele and several print and broadcast reporters who covered the case will also appear in the documentary.