It looks like the Laci Peterson case is the latest bit of “junk food news”. Why is this such a big story? Is it because she was a pregnant when she was murdered? If so, why haven’t the murders of April Renee Greer, Renee Morris, and Evelyn Hernandez garnered similar attention? According to the National Organization for Women, “the leading cause of death for pregnant women is homicide”. ABCNews recently had an even deeper examination of the pregnant murder victim tread :

According to a 2001 study published by the Journal of the American Medical Association, approximately 20 percent of Maryland women who died during pregnancy were murdered. This supported the findings of previous studies in Cook County, Ill., and New York.

Experts and women’s advocates are not surprised to find that pregnant women are especially prone to violent deaths. In many cases, pregnant women are killed by their husbands or significant others.
. . .
While pregnancy is supposed to be a happy time, it can aggravate an already troubled relationship undermined by either extramarital affairs or a long history of abuse.

“Her body begins to change,” said Sheryl Cates, executive director of the National Domestic Violence Hotline. “There are also hormone changes that a woman experiences. ? Emotionally, she may cry a lot, which may be irritating and frustrating. If you already have a volatile situation, add those factors [and] you have an escalation of violence. Often, that leads to death.”

Sometimes pregnancy can make husbands or boyfriends feel ignored, prompting them to seek gratification elsewhere. Soon, the pregnant wife and unborn child become obstacles, not sources of happiness, and that can lead to premeditated murder.

Like countless other “junk food” stories, the Peterson muder is a hit and Laci is its star. So why the media obsession with Laci Peterson? Personally, I think the media deems her more “watchable” and “all-American” than the likes of Evelyn Hernandez and April Renee Greer. Even the most mundane Laci Peterson stories often cut to split screen so they can show and endless loop of home videos and photos of Laci smiling at the camera.

And speaking of “all-American” girls, why is it that the media reported non-stop on the abductions and/or murders of Danielle van Dam, Jon Benet Ramsey, Elizabeth Smart, and Samantha Runnion, but there haven’t been any stories on CNN about Ashleigh Moore? Was she not cute (white) enough to get the media’s attention?