Gossip/Celebrity News

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Mariska Hargitay, Husband Have a Son

Mariska Hargitay and her husband, Peter Hermann, welcomed their first child, a son named August, PEOPLE has confirmed.

The baby boy, who was born on Wednesday at 3:21 p.m. in Los Angeles, was a week overdue and weighed in at 10 lbs. 9 oz.

"Mother and baby are doing wonderfully," Hargitay's rep, Leslie Sloane, tells PEOPLE. "I just talked to her and she is ecstatic – over the moon."

Hargitay, 42, who plays NYPD detective Olivia Benson on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, met Hermann, 38, on the NBC show, where he has a recurring role. The couple wed in Santa Barbara, Calif., in August 2004 in front of 200 guests.

Making plans for the baby's arrival, Hargitay told PEOPLE in April, "I want everything ready so that when he comes it'll be all about him." That meant stocking up on "soft, fuzzy things. I want him in swaddles and blankets."

As for staying in shape while she was expecting, Hargitay did prenatal yoga, rubbed Belly Smooches cream on her stomach – and dreamed about two off-limits pursuits: "I'm looking forward to taking a bath and going for sushi!"

Still, the first-time mom said she loved being pregnant. "I can't wait to meet this child, but I also don't want it to end," she told PEOPLE last month. "I feel more beautiful and goddessy than I ever have."

Hargitay's mother is '50s blonde bombshell Jayne Mansfield, who died in a car crash in 1967. Her father is Hungarian bodybuilder Mickey Hargitay.

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Taylor Hicks's First Crush: Found!

Just two weeks after American Idol winner Taylor Hicks told PEOPLE about his very first crush, the magazine received a call from the object of his affection, Christy Lee Worsham.
Now 32 and a stay-at-home mom, Worsham tells PEOPLE in its new issue, "I don't think I realized how big his crush was until I read about it."

But Hicks, 29, never forgot about her. "I was in the second grade; she was in the sixth," he told PEOPLE. "To a certain degree, I still like older women. I've dated more older women than younger women."

"He was such a fun kid," Worsham recalls, and adds that she wouldn't mind catching up with the Soul Patrolman. "I'm married," she tells PEOPLE. "But I'd love to reconnect. He was like a brother to me."

The proof is in the picture: In this 1984 snapshot, the smitten future Idol (left), then 7, poses with Worsham (center), then 10, and a friend at a YMCA summer program they attended in Huntsville, Ala.

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WEEK AHEAD: Idols Hit the Road

Taylor Hicks will reunite with his fellow American Idols to kick off their summer tour. PEOPLE looks at their plans to go on the road, plus other events to watch for in the coming week:

SUNDAY, JULY 2: Lindsay Lohan is a teen diva no more – the actress is turning 20! Expect her to party her way into her second decade in true Hollywood style with her celeb pals (Nicole Richie among them) by her side.

TUESDAY, JULY 4: Nick Lachey will be adding his vocal power to the Macy's 4th of July Fireworks Spectacular. Though he won't appear at the technicolor festivities, the singer pre-taped a special performance of "What's Left of Me" for the event. (He'll also appear on the Today show on July 3). Bo Bice will be in the Big Apple for the big night to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" on the 30th annual special. Get ready to trip the lights fantastic at 9 p.m. ET on NBC.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 5: Taylor Hicks, Katharine McPhee and the rest of the Top 10 American Idol finalists hit the road in Manchester, N.H., for the American Idols Live tour. The singers' 60-date jaunt will wrap up in Wilkes-Barre, Penn., on Sept. 24.

THURSDAY, JULY 6: TV stars everywhere are hoping they'll wake up to good news as Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Brad Garrett announce the Emmy nominations live from Hollywood at 5:39 a.m. Grab a cup of coffee and stay tuned.

NEW THIS WEEK:
• Movies (now in theaters): Superman Returns, starring Brandon Routh, Kate Bosworth and Kevin Spacey; The Devil Wears Prada, starring Meryl Streep and Anne Hathaway; Strangers with Candy, starring Amy Sedaris
• Music (in stores Tuesday): Johnny Cash, American V: A Hundred Highways; Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (soundtrack); Rise Against, The Sufferer and the Witness; Johnny Cash: Roots and Branches (various artists)
• DVDs (in stores Tuesday): The Matador; The Libertine; Charlie's Angels: The Complete Third Season; Stoned; Doctor Who: The Complete First Series

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Nick & Jessica's Divorce Is Final

Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey are officially divorced, Simpson's rep Rob Shuter confirms to PEOPLE exclusively.

According to papers filed in L.A. County Superior Court, the divorce is dated June 30, 2006, and Jessica's name is restored to Jessica Simpson (from Jessica Simpson Lachey). Lachey's rep also confirmed the divorce.

On Thursday, documents were released in which the former couple asked that retired Superior Court Judge Dana Senit Henry be appointed "for the sole purpose of" ending their marriage. They asked the judge to "bifurcate" the case, meaning to make the divorce official without settling all the financial details.

In fact, money has been a sticking point between the couple. Soon after Simpson filed for divorce last December, Lachey specified that he reserved the right to ask for spousal support, though in a published interview he denied that he planned to ask for alimony.

The end of Simpson and Lachey's marriage concludes the dramatic final chapter in the relationship of the couple who married in 2002 and then starred together in the MTV reality series Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica, which chronicled their early, happier days together.

In a statement released the day before Thanksgiving last year, Simpson and Lachey announced their split, saying: "After three years of marriage, and careful thought and consideration, we have decided to part ways. This is the mutual decision of two people with an enormous amount of respect and admiration for each other. We hope that you respect our privacy during this difficult time."

On Dec. 16, divorce papers were filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, by which time Simpson already had begun her new life – by moving into her new $3 million Beverly Hills home. (The Calabasas mansion she had shared with Lachey went on the market for $3.75 million and was bought by Malcolm in the Middle actor Justin Berfield.)

"She's happy to have a house that's hers," someone close to the pop star told PEOPLE at the time. "This is the first time she's making her own decisions."

For his part, Lachey confided to Rolling Stone in April that he was taken by complete surprise when Simpson dropped the D-word to him. "I'll tell you how I knew my marriage was over: I was told," he said, explaining that he was "blindsided" when his then-wife told him after dinner last November that she wanted to split up.

As for seeking out a new relationship, Simpson told Maxim magazine recently that, "A guy with a great imagination sends me through the rafters. … I love it!"

Since the split, both Simpson, 25, and Lachey, 32, have been linked to a variety of new partners. Most recently, she was seen engaging in a public flirtation with Jared Leto. Lachey, alternately, has been said to be romancing Vanessa Minnillo and/or stylist Kim Kardashian.

Professionally, Simpson has been causing quite a buzz with her new video for her single "A Public Affair." Simpson costars in it with Eva Longoria, Christina Applegate and Ryan Seacrest among others, and shot it recently at a Los Angeles roller rink.

Lachey, meanwhile, has been out promoting his new album, What's Left of Me.

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The View's Next Star: Brandy?

Could Star Jones Reynolds's replacement on The View be Brandy? The singer and actress will fill in on the ABC morning show next Wednesday and Friday, her rep tells PEOPLE exclusively.

The 27-year-old former Moesha star is currently a judge on America's Got Talent, an NBC reality show produced by American Idol's Simon Cowell. "America's Got Talent has really opened a lot of doors for me," she tells PEOPLE. "I want to do a lot more TV."

Her View stint could lead to a full-time job. "These tryouts are for consideration for the permanent gig," a source close to the situation tells PEOPLE. "They plan to have a few people trying out, like what CBS did (before hiring) Craig Ferguson for the Late Late Show."

On Thursday, One Life to Live actress Renée Goldsberry was the first guest host to fill in for Reynolds. Goldsberry was recruited "almost at the last minute," according to cohost and show creator Barbara Walters.

Goldsberry will be a guest host again on Monday. Tuesday's episode will be a repeat of a previous broadcast and All My Children's Susan Lucci will fill in on Thursday.

Born in McComb, Mississippi, Brandy (full name: Brandy Norwood) has released four albums that together have sold more than 25 million copies. She starred in UPN's Moesha from 1996-2001, and had leading roles in the movies TV movies Cinderella and Double Platinum.

The View has been the focus of much attention since Reynolds's surprise on-air announcement Tuesday that she would not be returning for the show's 10th season. She revealed to PEOPLE that she had been fired.

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Meet the Man of Steel

What a difference a couple of years and bright blue tights make. Brandon Routh, 26, was just another struggling actor when director Bryan Singer picked him in October 2004 to star in Superman Returns. So who is this guy?

Practically Smallville Growing up in rural Norwalk, Iowa, Routh, the son of Katie, a teacher, and Ron, a carpenter, was fascinated by the Man of Steel. Around age 5, he donned Superman pajamas and a cape to watch the first Superman on TV. "I was so excited that I gave myself a migraine," Routh tells PEOPLE. After recovering, "I was always throwing things up in the air and seeing how they would fly," he says. "My parents were like, 'This kid is crazy.'"

It's a bird, it's a plane, it's a thespian In high school, Routh fell in love with acting, so much so that he and pals performed in theater extravaganzas wearing tutus and Chippendales outfits. For a South Pacific revue, he and a friend wore grass s***ts and painted ships on their stomachs. "When they flexed their abs," says music teacher Kim Ward, "boats and waves went rolling."

Soap-erman to the rescue After a year at the University of Iowa in '99, Routh ended up in New York City. His big break: playing hunk Seth Anderson on One Life to Live from 2001-02. "He was a reluctant soap star," says Life castmate Sherri Saum. "He was just busting to break out."

Mild-mannered bartender Moving to L.A., Routh landed guest shots on Will & Grace and Cold Case – and made ends meet tending bar at Lucky Strike Lanes, a bowling alley. "He was very Clark Kent behind the bar," says coworker Kathleen Kaplan, who covered for Routh during his Superman audition. "He asked me once, 'What's a fuzzy navel?'" During an '03 work Halloween party, he won $100 by dressing as Kent.

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Police Seize Pitt-Jolie Pictures

Police in the town of Westfield, Massachusetts say they have seized a digital camera with images of Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie that were shot in Africa and allegedly hijacked in a local camera-repair shop.

In an investigation on behalf of Los Angeles authorities, Westfield police, accompanied by state police and Secret Service officers, went to the home of William Keys on Tuesday to recover a digital camera's memory stick after three photos that appeared on the Internet were tracked to Keys, police tell the Associated Press.

Officers then went to Keys's place of employment, Precision Camera and Video Repair in Enfield, Conn., and recovered the camera. It remains in custody of Westfield police, though no arrests have been made as of Sunday morning.

"It's an ongoing investigation, and we cannot comment," Jane Robison, a spokeswoman for the Los Angeles County prosecutor's office, tells AP.

According to the Boston Herald, Jolie's brother, James Haven, took dozens of photographs while he was visiting his sister and Pitt in Africa, where they were awaiting the birth of their daughter, Shiloh Nouvelle (the baby was born May 27).

When Haven returned home to Los Angeles, the Herald reports, he brought the camera to a Best Buy outlet there because it was broken. The store sent the camera to Precision for repairs.

The Herald also says that besides Keys, 36, another Precision employee allegedly downloaded photos from Haven's digital camera. Authorities stepped in once the pair apparently contacted a celebrity baby Web site to inquire as to the value of the photos, the paper adds.

Both Precision employees reportedly could face anti-paparazzi charges in California. Neither has commented on the situation, nor has Precision.

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Keira Knightley Dismisses Weight Criticism

Denying that she may have mimicked the Tinseltown trend to become too skinny, a waif-like Keira Knightley told reporters at London's premiere of Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest on Monday night: "Whatever people say about my weight they are all wrong."

Defending her appearance, the 21-year-old said, "Hollywood is all about the way you look, and I don't think that's the healthy thing for anyone. But, if you're strong and comfortable with yourself, then you're going to be fine."

Adorned in vintage Cartier jewelry and a low-cut, backless bronze Gucci dress, Knightley was happy to be back in her hometown. "We had such a good response in the U.S., but I'm a London girl – so it's always special to do a premiere here," she said.

For his part, Pirates star Johnny Depp was decked out in a fedora and sunglasses to keep his cool in the uncharacteristically hot London. He greeted fans and signed autographs for more than an hour.

Costar Orlando Bloom was also at the premiere. Press reports say he couldn't help himself, and peeked down the front of Knightley's gown, which opened to her belly button. "I haven't flashed anyone yet," she joked.

Among the other stars sighted: singer Charlotte Church, dealing with the heat in a white sundress and flip-flops, and Mischa Barton, sporting a blue baby-doll dress.

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest opens Friday in theaters across the U.S.

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Kylie Minogue 'Fell to Pieces' Over Cancer

In her first interview since her breast-cancer diagnosis in May of last year, Australian singer Kylie Minogue says that she and her family "fell to pieces" when they first heard the news from physicians.

"The moment my doctor told me, I went silent," Minogue, 38, reveals in an interview to be broadcast on Britain's Sky News on July 16. "My mum and dad were with me. Then we all fell to pieces. I was saying, 'No, dad, I'm getting a plane.' He said, 'No, you're not getting a plane. You'll sit down."'

Despite the diagnosis, she says she was determined to go on with the Australian leg of her "Showgirl" world tour, but her parents, Ron and Carol Minogue, convinced her to postpone it and begin treatment immediately.

Surgery to remove the tumor followed, along with a course of chemotherapy, which caused her to lose her hair. The chemo ended in December, and Minogue still receives treatment to prevent a recurrence of the cancer.

"I feel like I've got a second chance at life. It's like a new life," she says in the interview.

Minogue made her first appearance since her illness at Elton John's White Tie and Tiara ball last week, Sky News reports. She is also set to resurrect her concert schedule – now to be called the Showgirl Homecoming Tour and spread out over a slightly longer time to make it easier on Minogue, Australian concert promoter and long-time friend Michael Gudinski told reporters last month.

"She is still getting tired on the odd day, but she looked as fit as a fiddle," Gudinski said.

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Nick: 'It's Time to Move On'

Newly single Nick Lachey – whose divorce from Jessica Simpson after three years of marriage became official last week – had a big date Monday morning: serenading the Today show audience with a live concert in Manhattan's Rockefeller Plaza.

Lachey, 32, is promoting his album, What's Left of Me. Some of the female fans in the large crowd held a placard that read, "Nick, We want what's left of you."

Sporting a few day's scruff, Lachey walked into the crowd singing the new CD's title track. Afterwards, Today interviewer Lester Holt asked Lachey about the events of the past week and how he felt now that his divorce is final.

"I'm doing well," the singer responded. "It's a process we all have to go through. This week was the final step in that process."

Reminding Lachey that so many people followed his marriage to Simpson on the MTV reality series Newlyweds, Holt asked what it was like to put such a public aspect of himself behind him.

"It's a huge part of my life," Lachey acknowledged. "But for me, personally and professionally, it's time to move on."

On the Fourth of July, Lachey will lend his pipes to the Macy's fireworks spectacular in New York harbor.

Meanwhile, Simpson, 25, who recently filmed a video for her new single, "A Public Affair," was the subject of a dustup in the Hamptons early Sunday, when a photographer for New York's Daily News tried to shoot her picture at the Pink Elephant nightclub, the newspaper reports.

Photog John Roca, who says he asked if he could photograph the Dukes of Hazzard star, was roughed up and his camera's memory card was taken away by guards.

Simpson's rep, Rob Shuter, told the News, "This had nothing to with Jessica's security. It was club security that acted on its own."

The club's owner also said that Simpson's security was not to blame for the incident. "It is club policy to have no outside photographers inside the Pink Elephant," David Sarner said in a statement Monday afternoon. "Jessica was not even aware of the incident."

Indeed, one observer told PEOPLE that Simpson "seemed very relaxed" at the club.

Also on hand at the Pink Elephant was Scrubs star Zach Braff, newly ousted The View cohost, Star Jones Reynolds, and her husband, Al Reynolds.

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Hilary: Chad's Substance Abuse Caused Split

Chad Lowe's "substance-abuse" problem was at the heart of the reason that his marriage to Hilary Swank broke up, the double Oscar-winning actress reveals in a candid new interview.

"I knew something was happening but I didn't know what," Swank tells Vanity Fair magazine. She also says her ex has been fighting his problem for years, and he is sober now. She does not name what substance he abused.

But, she says in excerpts from the interview obtained by the New York Post, "When I found out, it was such a shock because I never thought he'd keep something from me. And yet, on another level, it was a confirmation of something I was feeling that was keeping us from being completely solid."

She goes on to say, "I don't want to make it seem like that's the sole reason; there were other factors. But that just kind of blew it open. It made me look at things a lot deeper. That's when you realize it's not going to work."

Representatives for Lowe, 38, could not be reached for comment on the article.

Swank, 31, who took home Hollywood's highest prize for Boys Don't Cry and Million Dollar Baby, denies that the success of her career was a factor in their breakup.

"Chad is very supportive of my career," she says in the interview. "He is, I think, genuinely happy for my success . . . I think that any frustration for him stemmed from the lack of opportunities in his own career."

As for her reaction upon learning of her husband's habit, she says: "When I found out, I wanted to be there, I knew it was the most important time of his life. That's when he needed me most."

His problem, she adds, is "an enormous obstacle to overcome, and he's doing it. He's living a sober life. … I know how difficult it is, and I'm really proud of his sobriety."

The couple – who announced their separation in January, then looked to be reconciling, only to announce their divorce in May – first met at a 1992 Hollywood Athletic Club bash. "We just started talking," Swank recalled for PEOPLE in 2003. She called it "love at first sight."

Said Lowe, "It was like the old cliché where you see somebody, lock eyes across the room, and time stands still. ... I said, 'I would love just to take you to lunch.' Then I worked my way up to dinner. We had lunch, we had dinner and then some."

It was a first marriage for both. They have no children.

"It takes two to make something work or not work. I'm a person with my own faults and troubles," Swank now says. "In the end, it just didn't work, but I would never look back on this relationship as failed. I look at it as 131/2 years of success."

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Ashley Judd on Rehab: 'I Needed Help'

After having endured a "chaotic" and "dysfunctional" childhood, Ashley Judd underwent a 47-day program at a Texas treatment center last February in order to deal with the issues of her past, including depression, isolation and co-dependent relationships, she says.

"I needed help. I was in so much pain," Judd, who says she slept to combat depression and exhibited a compulsion to clean, tells Glamour magazine, according to excerpts obtained by USA Today.

In recounting her childhood, Judd, 38, describes herself as a "hyper-vigilant child" who attempted to behave perfectly in order to compensate for her lack of security. She went to 13 schools in 12 years and shifted from living with her mother, her father and her grandparents.

"Supposedly, my sister was the 'messed-up' one, and I was the 'perfect' one," says Judd, whose mother is Grammy-winning country singer-songwriter Naomi Judd and sister is Wynonna, another Grammy winner. Her father is her mother's high-school sweetheart, Michael Ciminella. (Ashley's parents divorced when she was four.)

It was during a visit with Wynonna, 42, while she was being treated for a food addiction at the Shades of Hope Treatment Center in Buffalo Gap, Texas, that counselors reportedly noticed Ashley's emotional problems and approached her about treatment.

"They said, 'No one ever does an intervention on people like you. You look too good. You're too smart and together. But you (and Wynonna) come from the same family, so you come from the same wound.' No one had validated my pain before," says Ashley.

She denies tabloid reports that she was under treatment for eating disorders, "though I did take a look at my eating. Why wouldn't I? I looked at everything else in my life under a microscope," she says.

Of curbing her compulsive habit of wiping down plastic surfaces on planes and at hotels, Judd says: "Now I try to remind myself that if I engage in perfectionism, I am abusing myself."

She also credits the stint at Shades of Hope as helping her 4-year marriage to racecar driver Dario Franchitti, 33. "I was unhappy, and now I'm happy," she says. "Now, even when I'm having a rough day, it's better than my best day before treatment."

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Cindy Sheehan, Stars Begin Hunger Strike

Anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan began a hunger strike on Tuesday – and Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn and other stars are joining her in her "Troops Home Fast" protest.

Sheehan, whose son Casey was killed in Iraq in 2004, had her last meal at 12 a.m. on July 4 in front of the White House and will remain on a diet of water, teas and juices until Sept. 1, International Peace Day.

"Everything we do is to get the troops to come home," she told PEOPLE outside the White House on Tuesday. "We want to show the world that there are Americans who are committed to peace. Fasting is such a time-honored way of protest."

Sarandon, Penn, Danny Glover, Willie Nelson and the Rev. Al Sharpton will join communities across America on a "rolling fast," giving up food on designated days and encouraging others to fast with them on those days.

So far, more than 3,000 people from the U.S. and 18 other countries have signed up to join the fast.

Some, like Diane Wilson, co-founder of the Code Pink: Women for Peace and organizer of the hunger strike, are giving up food entirely until the troops come home. "I've done a number of hunger strikes, and this is the biggest already and it just started yesterday," Wilson tells PEOPLE.

Sheehan made headlines last summer when she held a peace vigil while camped outside President Bush's Crawford, Tex., ranch. She plans to return to Crawford in August for the end of her fast.

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Illness Waylays Katharine McPhee

Katharine McPhee missed Wednesday's Manchester, N.H., kick-off of the 51-city "American Idols Live" tour, blaming severe bronchitis and laryngitis.

It was announced at Manchester's Verizon Wireless Arena that McPhee, the runner-up to winner Taylor Hicks on this year's American Idol, would be missing both Wednesday's and Thursday's performances.

Her doctor, Sean Nassari, ordered "total voice rest," the Associated Press reports.

In a statement, McPhee, 22, said that, while she was disappointed not to perform, "I need to follow my doctor's orders to recuperate and reunite with the rest of the idols."

Adding that her doctor had told her she needed to remain silent, she said, "That's the most difficult part, not talking!"

Before the tour began, McPhee told PEOPLE she planned to bring with her "a couple of pictures of my family and my dog Lily."

McPhee, who has been singing since she was 2, lives in Sherman Oaks, Calif., and has said she hopes eventually to act in movies as well as musical theater. Her versions of "Over the Rainbow" and "My Destiny" were released on June 27.

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Amber Frey Gets Married

Amber Frey, Scott Peterson's former mistress and a key witness in his prosecution, wed Robert Hernandez on Wednesday, PEOPLE has learned exclusively.

"Amber Frey will be married today to Robert Hernandez," Frey's attorney, Gloria Allred, told PEOPLE that afternoon. "Mr. Hernandez works in law enforcement. The couple will be married in California and are very happy. They plan to live in the Fresno area."

Frey, 31, a Fresno-based massage therapist, has two children: daughter Ayianna, born in 2001, and son Justin, 2, from previous relationships.

Last year a DNA test determined that Ayianna's father is Fresno bar owner Christopher B. Funch and not Anthony D. Flores, as Frey had previously believed. Justin's dad is Frey's ex-boyfriend, chiropractor David Markovich.

Frey made headlines in 2004 when she gave dramatic testimony in the murder trial of her former lover, Scott Peterson. Frey and Peterson had dated in late 2002, and on Christmas Eve of that year, Peterson's pregnant wife, Laci, disappeared.

On Nov. 12, 2004, a jury found Peterson guilty of first-degree murder in the death of Laci and second-degree murder in the slaying of their unborn child, Conner. A month later, he was sentenced to death.

Now on death row in San Quentin State Prison, Peterson, 33, has struck up a pen-pal relationship with Rachelle Nice, 36, one of the jurors who convicted him. Nice told PEOPLE last month she's hoping that Peterson will eventually confess to the murders.

"If he comes clean, I don't think things will change, but it will put a lot of people's minds at ease and at rest," she said. "This has to eat at him. It has to. I don't know if it will make things better, but it will put his mind at ease."

For her part, Frey has no doubt that she did the right thing. "The whole experience was very trying, emotionally," she told PEOPLE in 2005. "For most people, it was just a story, but to me it was part of my life, a very painful part. I don't know if I've made my mark on the world, but I'm young, and I have my whole life ahead of me – and I intend to do my best."