Quote · Dateline NBC
Prosecutors' love triangle theory. Youth pastor accused of wife's murder. Plus, June Diane Raphael.
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Patricia Laird Takes the Stand
At 5:45 · chapter starts 4:57
Nobody expected Patricia Laird to be a key witness, but her testimony shifted the entire dynamic. A San Diego County Sheriff's Deputy, she had been fielding obsessive calls from Larry — from his work phone, his kids' phones, unknown numbers — until she started blocking him. She even called Maya woman to woman, and Maya denied the affair, claiming she'd invented it to make Larry 'feel stupid' and calling him 'crazy.' Patricia, alert as a law enforcement officer, offered Maya police resources and a restraining order. Maya turned her down and said she wasn't scared. Then came the critical moment: Patricia went into labor the same night Maya disappeared, and Jamie was at the hospital with her for five days. That alibi is what the prosecution needed most.
Nobody knew Patricia Laird had ever spoken directly to Maya Millete. She called her woman to woman to ask what was really going on — and Maya denied the affair entirely, calling Larry 'crazy.' When Patricia, a sheriff's deputy, offered police resources including a restraining order, Maya said she wasn't scared.
Prosecutors didn't just call Patricia Laird for drama — they needed her to eliminate Jamie as a suspect. She went into labor the same night Maya disappeared and Jamie was at the hospital with her for 5 days due to complications. That's the prosecution's alibi witness, not a salacious add-on.
Jamie Laird's then-wife Patricia went into labor the same night Maya Millete was last seen alive — January 7, 2021 — and Jamie stayed at the hospital with her for 5 days, providing his alibi.
Prosecutors in the Larry Millete trial have presented no physical evidence of murder and Maya's body has never been found, requiring the jury to conclude she is dead before convicting.
