On an early June morning in 2003, John Michael Burdette awoke to the sound of his mother, 31-year-old Patricia Leigh Mills, screaming. The house was on fire.
His father, Delbert, had already left for work. Six-year-old John couldn’t make it out the front door, so he crawled out of his bedroom window. He tried to go back in to save his mom, but it wasn’t safe, and witnesses stopped him.
The bystanders were able to force the back door open, but there was black billowing smoke and fire everywhere.
Patricia Leigh didn’t make it.
Just six weeks later, when Delbert Mills got engaged to another woman, suspicions started to rise.
And that was just the beginning...
To find out how it all ends, watch the full episode “Secrets in the Ashes,” available now on Peacock.
You can also watch on the NBC app or listen to the full episode on our podcast.
Plus, watch loved ones remember Patricia Leigh as a bubbly and sweet-natured mother, whose world revolved around her son.
Then listen to this week’s episode of Talking Dateline, in which Lester and Andrea take you behind the scenes of the episode.
