REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — A judge formally sentenced Scott Peterson to die by lethal injection Wednesday during a dramatic proceeding in which raw emotion poured from nearly every participant but the convicted double-murderer himself.

The defendant's parents angrily interrupted the sentencing to proclaim his innocence. The judge came close to breaking down in tears on the bench. Jurors sobbed. The police detective who built the case against Peterson wept. And six relatives of his slain wife addressed him directly, tearfully and sometimes profanely, saying their only comfort was the thought of his eternal damnation.

"You are a piece of s--- ... You are going to burn in hell for this," said Dennis Rocha, father of Peterson's pregnant wife, Laci.

But through it all, the Modesto fertilizer salesman, who became America's most famous murder defendant during his trial last year, wore the same blasé expression he had during most of the testimony in the case and his ultimate conviction.

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"You are selfish, heartless, spoiled, self-centered, and you are a coward. But, above all, you are an evil murderer ... not even Satan would claim to have a part in your creation," Sharon Rocha, Laci Peterson's mother, told the 32-year-old.

Peterson, wearing shackles over his neat black suit, locked eyes with his former mother-in-law, who stood at a lectern about 15 feet away, but showed no reaction.

Laci Peterson was almost eight months pregnant when he reported her missing on Dec. 24, 2002. Her body and that of her unborn son washed up on the San Francisco Bay four months later. Prosecutors theorized that he killed her because he was having an affair with a massage therapist named Amber Frey and wanted the freedom to live a bachelor lifestyle.

Confrontation in the courtroom

Early in the hearing, Peterson's parents, who bankrolled his defense and took the witness stand on his behalf, declared his innocence from their seats in the front row of the gallery.

As Laci Peterson's brother, Brent Rocha, was describing the defendant as a "spoiled rich kid," Peterson's mother, Jackie, began muttering loudly and then called out, "He didn't do it."

A moment later, while Rocha recalled a conversation before the murders in which Peterson had expressed dissatisfaction with his life, his father, Lee, shouted, "You are a liar!"

Ron Grantski blasted Peterson in court Wednesday.

Court officers shushed the Petersons and, several minutes later, both of them left.

The 90-minute hearing was largely procedural. Judge Alfred Delucchi had the option of granting Peterson a new trial or reducing the death sentence recommended by a jury last year to life in prison without the possibility of parole — but few believed the veteran judge would exercise those options, and in the end, he did not.

He called new exculpatory evidence claimed by the defense "not credible," and said the murders were too "cruel" and "callous" for him to reduce the jury's sentence.

Delucchi, who has tried 23 capital cases, appeared near tears as he talked about the death of the unborn son the couple planned to name Conner.

"This young boy, Conner, was unable even to take a breath of life on this earth," Delucchi said, his voice shaking.

Thirteen members of the jury, including a dismissed juror and an alternate, returned to the court where they spent six months hearing evidence to attend the proceeding. They took their seats in the jury box and some nodded along as the judge told Peterson he would be sent to death row in San Quentin for execution.

Family grief

In their statements, each of Laci Peterson's relatives said they were dismayed at Peterson's lack of remorse and the fact they had ever trusted him.

Her sister-in-law, Rose Rocha, said she felt "disgusted" that she once allowed Peterson to touch her stomach when she was pregnant, and Laci Peterson's sister, Amy, said, "I cannot believe that at one time I wanted to find someone like you."

Her stepfather, Ron Grantski, recalled that during a candlelight vigil for her safe return, Peterson called his mistress, Amber Frey.

"That is a cold-blooded, no-good son-of-a-bitch," he said.

Brent Rocha disclosed that a month after his sister went missing and three months before Peterson's arrest, he bought a gun and mulled killing the defendant himself.

"I chose not to kill you myself for one reason — that you would have to sweat it out yourself," he said.

The hearing's emotional pinnacle came from Sharon Rocha, the final speaker. Dressed in a pale pink suit, she grasped the sides of the lectern and glared at the defendant.

"Scott, you made a conscious decision to murder Laci and Conner," she said. "You planned and executed their murders."

She held his gaze, paused for a moment and nodded, saying, "Yes, you did."

Peterson shook his head, but continued staring at Rocha.

Modesto detective Al Brocchini began crying as Rocha listed all the things she would never learn about her grandson: the color of his hair and eyes, whether he would ever have dimples, what he would dress as at Halloween, what would be in his Easter basket.

She went on to say that she was "haunted" by her daughter's last hours. Then, in what appeared to be a bid to pierce Peterson's stony demeanor, she told him what she believed her daughter and unborn grandson were thinking.

"Laci was thinking, 'Scott, why are you killing me? What are you doing? You know how much I love you! ... Why? Why? Why?'" she said, her voice shaking.

At the defense table, Peterson jerked his head back as if surprised, but then resumed staring at Rocha.

Court officials said Peterson would be transported to San Quentin within 48 hours.