Larry Millete convicted of murder in missing wife’s disappearance

Larry Millete has been convicted of first-degree murder for the killing of his wife, Maya, who vanished more than five years ago in Southern California.

A jury in Chula Vista deliberated for less than a day before convicting Larry Millete, 44, of murdering his wife of 20 years, May “Maya” Millete, who has not been seen or heard from since Jan. 7, 2021.

He faces up to 25 years to life in state prison for May’s murder.

Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles, who prosecuted the case, and May’s sister, Maricris Drouaillet, expressed gratitude for the jury’s verdict after the six-week long trial.

But they said their work is not finished until May’s body is found.

“While today’s verdict is significant, May is still missing,” Bowles said. “We continue to hope that one day, she will be found so her family can lay her to rest with the dignity she deserves.”

Drouaillet, who for years organized searches for her younger sister, said, “Justice will have been served today, but we still have my sister out there. We still have the second step to go through. We still have to bring my sister home, to bring her to her three children.”

Prosecutors say Larry killed his wife in their home because she sought a divorce, then loaded her body into an SUV and disposed of her on Jan. 8, during a period of about 12 hours in which his whereabouts remain unknown.

Her body has never been found, but police and prosecutors say there is no evidence to suggest she was alive after that date.

While Bowles conceded to jurors that she could not specifically say how Maya Millete died, she argued Larry was the only person with the means and motive to kill her.

Spell caster and hemlock evidence

The prosecution’s case focused largely on what Bowles described as Larry’s possessive and controlling behavior, which allegedly included regularly tracking Maya’s whereabouts, controlling her finances and ultimately soliciting the assistance of “spell casters” he believed could magically influence Maya to give up her plans for divorce.

The requests to spell casters evolved over the months leading to Maya’s disappearance, from seeking to make her fall in love with him again to making her obey him to causing her to become sick or incapacitated so she would be dependent on him. Bowles argued those messages illustrated his capability to cause his wife physical harm and noted his spell requests abruptly ended following Maya’s disappearance.

The prosecutor also sought to dispel the notion that Maya voluntarily vanished, noting Maya’s plans for the coming year and her devotion to her three children.

Defense attorney Liann Sabatini said in her closing arguments that Larry’s behavior was colored by Maya’s ongoing affair with a co-worker and that his conduct that was being classified as stalking was actually Larry conducting a “tragic investigation” in which he was trying to confirm whether Maya was cheating.

Sabatini argued Larry was being psychologically abused and “gaslit” by Maya, whom she said was denying the affair to family and friends while at the same time portraying Larry as “crazy” and “the villain” for suspecting it.

While she said jurors might not agree with how Larry handled the situation, Sabatini said, “There is no playbook for heartbreak.”

Regarding the murder, Sabatini told jurors they were being asked to speculate rather than rely on facts in a case that lacked a body, crime scene, murder weapon or eyewitnesses.

Bowles argued the lack of a body was even more compelling evidence that Maya’s disappearance was criminal and “so well-planned that it is nothing other than premeditation.”

Maya Millete’s cause of death still a mystery

Though Bowles said she could not articulate the exact method of death, the presence of poison hemlock in the home has been referenced as a potential method. The contents of a vial found inside the Millete home following his arrest tested positive for coniine — a poisonous compound found in poison hemlock — and Larry had searched numerous times for poison hemlock online, as well as other methods for killing or incapacitating someone.

But Sabatini dismissed the poison theory as “silly,” arguing there was no reason for Larry to keep the plant inside his home nearly a year after Maya’s disappearance if he was guilty and that it was more likely one of his children picked the plant, as poison hemlock is commonly found throughout San Diego County.

She also argued that Larry searched for the plant as a means to die by suicide due to his despair over his deteriorating marriage.

Final video of Maya Millete

Surveillance footage captured Maya entering the family’s home at around 4:45 p.m. Jan. 7, but no video footage has captured her leaving.

According to trial testimony, her last known contact with anyone was in a text message with one of her sisters at around 8:15 p.m. Jan. 7, then her cell phone terminated all cellular connections at about 1:25 a.m. Jan. 8.

Larry – whose phone also terminated cell connections on the morning of Jan. 8 – allegedly left the family’s home in an SUV at about 6:45 a.m. and did not return until about 6 that evening.

A sentencing hearing for Larry has not yet been set as another unresolved assault weapon possession charge will be dealt with first. He will be back in court next month for a status conference.

San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan said in a statement released shortly after the verdict, “Finally, justice has been served for Maya and for everyone who has carried the weight of her absence for more than five years.

“Our hearts are with Maya’s family, friends and especially her three children, who have endured an unimaginable loss. Justice delayed can never erase years of grief, but today’s verdict affirms that no victim is forgotten and no family is abandoned in our pursuit of the truth.”