Scott Peterson Allegedly Attacked in Prison by Fellow Inmate While Playing Pickleball

Convicted killer Scott Peterson was reportedly injured this week after being attacked while playing pickleball in prison.

According to TMZ, Peterson, 51, was allegedly assaulted by a fellow inmate in the yard near his housing unit at California’s Mule Creek State Prison, where he is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for the murder of his wife Laci and their unborn son Conner.

Citing multiple sources, TMZ reports the alleged assault was over a game of pickleball.

Prison officials confirmed to PEOPLE that Peterson had sustained minor injuries in an incident on Sunday, March 9. An inquiry for further comment was not immediately returned.

Laci Peterson, 27, was eight months pregnant with their son Conner when she vanished on Christmas Eve in 2002. While Peterson initially helped with the search, it soon came out that he was having an affair and became a prime suspect in Laci’s disappearance.

Four months later, Laci’s remains were discovered in San Francisco Bay, just a mile away from where her unborn son’s body was found.

Peterson was arrested shortly thereafter, sporting bleached blond hair, $15,000 in cash, a baggie filled with Viagra pills, camping gear and four cell phones in his car. Police alleged he was just 30 miles from the Mexican border and was getting ready to flee.

Peterson was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder in 2004 and sentenced to death in 2005. He was later resentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

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More recently, the L.A. Innocence Project took up Peterson’s cause, alleging his state and federal constitutional rights were violated, according to ABC News.

In 2024, Peterson spoke out for the first time in decades in Face to Face with Scott Peterson, a three-part docuseries on Peacock, again denying any involvement in the disappearance and death of Laci and Conner.