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| “ | You don't believe I'd do it, do you? Graham didn't believe me, either. | „ |
| ~ Jamie threatening his own mother with a handgun. |
Jamie Maser is the main antagonist of the Law & Order episode "Trust". He is a teenage boy who shoots and kills two classmates for fun and tries to make both deaths look like accidents.
He was portrayed by Harley Cross.
Early life[]
Jamie is the son of wealthy businessman Ian Maser and his wife Pamela. Ian was a cold, domineering bully who punished any weakness in his son by belittling him as a failure. To "correct" Jamie, Ian, a competitive shooting champion, took him to firing ranges to practice, loudly berating him for any shot that was less than perfect. Ian's emotional abuse eventually molded Jamie into a sociopath, but he learned enough social graces to fool adults into believing he was a "nice, quiet young man".
Jamie eventually took his anger out on another boy, Graham Campbell, by shooting him dead in a game of "Trust". In this game, he and Graham pointed loaded guns, which Jamie stole from Ian, at each other and prepared to shoot until one of the boys backed down, which filled Jamie with a sense of power. Before Graham could surrender, however, Jamie shot him in the face, killing him. Ian got Jamie a high-priced lawyer who managed to prevent him from being criminally charged.
Ian and Pamela divorced following the shooting, with the former putting a clause in the settlement forbidding her to tell anybody what Jamie had done. Jamie went to live with his mother, who tried to undo the damage Ian had done do him. It was too late, however; Jamie constantly flew into violent rages, and, at one point, aimed one of Ian's guns at her and threatened to kill her. She gave up custody to Ian, who put Jamie on an anti-anxiety drug called Tracon and enrolled him in Bishop's Academy, a prestigious prep school.
Jamie's classmates were put off by his cold manner and obsession with firearms, but he did befriend Robbie Fenwick, another emotionally disturbed boy who was fixated on guns. The two of them often played "Trust" with Ian's pistols, until Jamie killed him, too, shooting his friend in the face as he cowered in fear.
"Trust"[]
After Robbie's body is found, NYPD Homicide Sergeant Phil Cerreta and Detective Mike Logan investigate his death as a homicide. After ballistics tests prove that the weapon that killed Robbie belongs to Ian, they go to question him. Ian insists that the weapon is locked up in his safe, but Cerreta and Logan find that it is not; since Jamie is the only other person who knows the safe's combination, he becomes the main suspect.
Cerreta and Logan interrogate Jamie, who says that the gun had gone off when he tried to take it from Robbie. When Cerreta compare Jamie's account to the crime scene evidence, however, they find that Jamie could only have shot Robbie from a distance, not at close range as he claims. They also talk to the detective who arrested Jamie for killing Graham, who tells them that he suspected Jamie did it in purpose. Jamie's juvenile arrest record is sealed, however, so they can only arrest Jamie for killing Robbie.
Executive Assistant District Attorney Ben Stone and Assistant District Attorney Paul Robinette charge Robbie with second-degree murder. Jamie's lawyer enters an insanity plea on his behalf, claiming that Tracon impaired Jamie's ability to understand the consequences of his actions and distinguish between right and wrong. During the trial, Jamie testifies that he felt detached from reality when he shot Robbie, as if he was helplessly watching himself do it. The jury finds him not guilty, but Stone, determined to prevent him from killing again, opens an investigation into Graham's death.
After conferring with Cerreta and Logan, Stone and Robinette conclude that the circumstances of Graham's death were nearly identical to Robbie's. They persuade a judge to unseal Jamie's arrest record, giving them enough evidence to once again charge him with second-degree murder, this time relating to Graham's death.
Ian refuses to testify against his son even under threat of perjury charges. Ultimately, however, Stone and Robinette convince Pamela to testify about the shooting and Jamie's propensity for violence, even though it means violating the terms of her divorce, by telling her that it is only a matter of time before Jamie kills again. This time, the jury finds Jamie guilty. Because Stone and Robinette charged him as an adult, he presumably receives a long prison sentence.
External links[]
- Jamie Maser on the Law & Order Wiki
