Where is Scott Pettigrew now?

The Netflix series Worst Roommate Ever is back for a second season with four chilling episodes that may make you rethink your choices for a housemate should you ever decide to share a living space with somebody.

The second episode of Worst Roommate Ever: Season 2 tells the story of a Palm Springs retiree named Anita Cowen whose life came to an end following her decision to take in Scott Pettigrew as a tenant.

In this article, we take a look at this nightmarish true story and ask the question: Where is Scott Pettigrew now?

Why was Scott Pettigrew a bad tenant?

In February 2016, Anita Mimie Cowan rented out a room in her California home to her younger coworker, Scott Pettigrew, following his eviction from his previous home.

At first, their living situation seemed quite amicable. But it wasn’t long before the 66-year-old regretted her decision to rent a room to the seemingly charming Pettigrew.

Scott was far from the perfect tenant. He left the house in a state of disarray, allowed his dogs to defecate all over Anita’s home, and stole food and utensils from the residence. On top of all this, he had stopped paying rent.

On June 9, 2016, Anita, who felt intimidated by her lodger, asked for a restraining order against Scott. This was granted on June 10 but the judge stopped short of requiring Scott to move out of the property because there was no sign of him being physically abusive to Anita.

Scott was served the restraining order on June 14 and as per the order, he was told to remain five yards away from Anita. Sadly, he didn’t keep to this instruction as hours later, he beat his landlady to death.

What did Scott Pettigrew do?

On the evening of June 14, Anita was on the phone with her son when an argument broke out between her and Scott. Her son heard what was going on and told her he would be at the house soon. In the meantime, he instructed her to turn on her audio recorder.

Worried for his mother’s safety, Anita’s son called the police and asked them to check on her. When the police arrived at the house at 11:42 pm, they discovered Anita’s body in the backyard pool, with cuts and bruises to her face and body and clumps of hair missing from her scalp.

The officers investigated the house and found Scott, naked in his room. There were scratches all over his body. They arrested him and secured the audio recording that Anita had taken before her death. Her screams were heard on the tape which turned out to be a recording of her murder.

During Anita’s autopsy, the examiner concluded that she died from blunt force trauma.

What happened to Scott Pettigrew?

At his trial, Scott pleaded not guilty to the charge of first-degree murder. Toxicology reports indicated that he had been drinking on the day of the murder, so was likely “impaired” at the time of the attack. His lawyers argued that he had been in an emotional state and didn’t premeditate the murder but the prosecutors disagreed with this, as Scott had threatened to kill Anita on multiple occasions.

In August 2019, Scott was convicted of first-degree murder, elder abuse, and breaking a court order. He was sentenced to 25 years to life at California State Jail – Corcoran, in Kings County.