FRESNO, Calif. -- A panel of three California judges ruled Wednesday that Laci Peterson's mother deserves to get a $250,000 payout from her daughter's life insurance policy.

That decision affirmed a previous ruling that a Stanislaus County Superior Court judge made almost two years ago.

The Fifth District Court of Appeal judges ruled that Sharon Rocha should receive the payment even though Scott Peterson was appealing the double-murder conviction that landed him on death row at San Quentin State Prison.

Rocha is the executor of her daughter's estate. Scott Peterson had been the beneficiary of the policy dated June 25, 2001, but he lost his inheritance rights when a jury said he was guilty of killing his wife and unborn son.

Peterson's attorneys had argued that Rocha should not receive the insurance proceeds while the case is on appeal.

Laci Peterson disappeared from the couple's Modesto home on December 24, 2002, setting off a highly publicized search throughout Northern California. The remains of Laci Peterson and her fetus were later recovered along the shore of the San Francisco Bay.

Scott Peterson was convicted by a jury in Redwood City of killing his wife and unborn son in Dec. 2004 in one of the most highly publicized trials in California history.