Speaker
Alexis Rivas
Appearances over time
3 episodes
Episodes
3
Prosecutors' love triangle theory. Youth pastor accused of wife's murder. Plus, June Diane Raphael.
Luigi Mangione’s shifting defense strategy. A victim’s lover takes the stand. Plus, Keith Morrison's new podcast.
Spellcaster testifies at murder trial. Legal fireworks in UNC student murder. Plus, cars and crime.
Podcasts
Quotes & moments
Larry Millete sent spellcaster Frank Peavey 27 messages a day, far above the typical 2 messages per day Frank received from other clients.
Maya Millete and Jamie Laird exchanged 760 messages over the course of a year, most of which were sexually explicit, via secret Instagram accounts.
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 highlighted that after Maya Millete disappeared, all of Larry's spell requests mentioning her abruptly stopped — a detail the prosecution considers highly significant.
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.
Maya Millete, 39, vanished from her home in Chula Vista on January 7, 2021; no footage exists of her leaving the house.
Jamey Laird's testimony revealed the affair with Maya Millete did not end months before her disappearance — they were still seeing each other and communicating the week she vanished.
Two days before Maya Millete vanished, Larry Millete called Jamey Laird's wife to reveal the affair, sending Jamey into a panic and prompting a flurry of messages with Maya.
Larry Millete's spell requests escalated from asking for Maya's love, to explicit sexual demands, to asking that she be punished and suffer a physical injury like a broken bone.
Women dominate true crime viewership, and June Diane Raphael has a compelling theory why: the genre offers genuine empathy for victims, helps listeners recognize red flags, and returns a sense of agency to people who often feel like potential victims themselves. It's not morbid fascination — it's protective learning.
The prosecution's entire case against Larry Millete rests not on physical evidence, but on a love triangle. Maya and her co-worker Jamie exchanged 760 messages over secret Instagram accounts, met at hotels and in their cars, and Larry found them together outside their office a year before Maya vanished.
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.
David Vander Meer collected $567,000 in life insurance after Bernadette's death. That morning, Bernadette told her mother they had recently increased their coverage and tried to show her the policy online — but the password had been changed. She said she'd figure it out later. She never got the chance.
Investigators used NASA sunrise data to test David Vander Meer's story that he was setting up a sunrise photo when Bernadette fell. The 911 call came in long before the sun was visible at that location. His own alibi — a sunrise photo — was disproved by the sun itself.
David Vander Meer was arrested and was supposed to appear in court — but the judge announced he was not coming because he had died. The jail confirmed he died from self-inflicted injuries. His family had waited decades for this moment, only to have the trial disappear with him.
The first hearing for Alex Murdaugh's retrial brought a packed courthouse with 200 attendees, international media, and a new judge who openly admitted she knew nothing about the case. Judge Deborah McCaslin asked attorneys not to assume she had any background, setting the stage for a fresh start — with a tentative retrial date of April 5, 2027.
Luigi Mangione showed up 30 minutes late after getting stuck in a courthouse elevator, then learned his federal trial was pushed from November 2026 to January 2027. Sources had said plea talks were underway — but they fell apart. A deal could still happen right up to trial.
The night before David and Bernadette drove to Zion, witness S.H. tried to break off her relationship with David. He told her the only way they could ever be together was if Bernadette 'was not alive.' After Bernadette died, S.H. became David's second wife.
Around 2008, David Vander Meer was fired from his youth pastor position after church leaders discovered he was throwing parties for teenagers, giving them alcohol, and encouraging gambling. He then reinvented himself as a school counselor and yoga instructor in Las Vegas.
In August 2006, youth pastor David Vander Meer hiked Angels Landing at Zion National Park with his wife Bernadette before sunrise — and came back alone, saying she had fallen. Investigators were suspicious but couldn't prove a crime, so the case was closed as an accident for nearly two decades.
Keith Morrison returns to a case he first covered in 2013 — the murder of teen track star Mickey Costanzo in a tiny Nevada casino town. It has obsession, jealousy, a love triangle, and a jailhouse interview. Morrison calls it Shakespearean, and he's not wrong.
Mangione's defense team secretly filed a psychiatric 'extreme emotional disturbance' notice months ago — but when the judge unsealed it publicly, they pulled it within 24 hours. By briefly signaling Mangione might admit to the killing, they potentially strengthened the prosecution's resolve.
June Diane Raphael plays Eva Woods, Elle Woods's mother, in the new Amazon Prime Video prequel series Elle. The show traces the origins of Elle's confidence and style — and Raphael points out that real data exists showing how many women entered law school inspired by the original film.
Analysis
What they talk about
- True Crime 100%
Connections
Shows they appear on and people they share episodes with. Drag to explore.
