Larry Millete is on trial in San Diego County Superior Court for the first-degree murder of his wife, Maya Millete, a 39-year-old mother of three who vanished from the family’s Chula Vista home on January 7, 2021. Both sides have rested, and closing arguments in the Maya Millete murder trial are scheduled for July 7, 2026, after which the jury is expected to begin deliberations. Maya’s body has never been found, and prosecutors have built their case entirely on circumstantial evidence.
How Maya Disappeared
Surveillance video captured Maya arriving home on Paseo Los Gatos at 4:43 p.m. on January 7, 2021. She was never seen leaving.1NBC San Diego. Timeline: The Disappearance of Chula Vista Mom May Maya Millete The family had a Big Bear trip planned for her daughter’s birthday two days later. When Maya missed the trip and stopped answering, her sister, Maricris Drouaillet, called Chula Vista police at 11:18 p.m. on January 9. On that call, she told the dispatcher her brother-in-law “has a tendency to be violent.”2NBC San Diego. Live Updates: Maya Millete’s Sister Maricris Drouaillet Expected to Retake the Stand
Officers arrived at the home around 1:00 a.m. on January 10. Maya’s car was still there. Her phone went straight to voicemail. In the days that followed, Larry gave family members “different stories” about where Maya was, telling her brother he had been at work on January 8, then changing that to a trip to the beach with one of their children, and then misidentifying which beach.3CBS News. Maya Millete Disappearance Timeline4Fox 5 San Diego. What Led to the Arrest of Larry Millete: DA Shares Evidence From 9-Month Investigation He retained an attorney early and stopped cooperating with investigators. Larry was arrested nine months later, on October 19, 2021, and charged with murder and with illegal possession of an assault rifle. He pleaded not guilty.
What Prosecutors Say Was the Motive
Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles told jurors in her opening that the Millete marriage was “unhealthy” and “toxic,” and that “rather than let her leave, he killed her.”510News San Diego. Opening Statements in the Maya Millete Murder Trial After 21 years of marriage, prosecutors say, Maya was preparing to leave. Her longtime friend and co-worker Kristeen Timmers testified that the relationship worsened sharply between July and December 2020, that Maya was secretly saving cash because she believed Larry controlled the family finances, and that she had been consulting a therapist and planning to file for divorce.610News San Diego. Live Blog: Preliminary Hearing for Larry Millete Prosecutors say Maya contacted a law firm about divorce on the very day she disappeared.
Timmers also testified that Maya had told her, in tears, “I’m afraid that Larry will hurt the kids to hurt me.” Meanwhile, Maya had begun a relationship with a co-worker, Jamey Laird, that prosecutors say resulted in a pregnancy and abortion.7Yahoo News. Live Updates: Larry Millete Murder Trial Bowles summarized the prosecution’s theory of Larry’s mindset in a single line: “There was no world that existed that May Millete was not his wife.”
The Spellcaster Messages and Google Searches
One of the most striking threads at trial is Larry’s use of online spellcasters. Between September 2020 and January 2021, he sent more than 1,700 messages to various practitioners and paid $1,154.05 for over 70 services.8NBC San Diego. Did the Spells Come True? Question During Larry Millete Hearing Draws Gasps in Court Prosecutors say the requests began as attempts to rekindle the marriage and grew darker. Larry asked for spells to leave Maya “incapacitated” so “she has to depend on us for care,” and for “broken bones so she could stay home.”4Fox 5 San Diego. What Led to the Arrest of Larry Millete: DA Shares Evidence From 9-Month Investigation He messaged a sister-in-law about “wanga dolls” and the poisonous plant hemlock.
Frank Peavey, a spiritual assistance provider Larry contacted through Fiverr, testified that Larry was “desperate,” “manic,” and “obsessive,” sending as many as 27 messages in a row, and that he eventually blocked him. On cross-examination, Peavey said Larry never asked him specifically to kill Maya or make her “disappear.”910News San Diego. Spellcaster Called Larry Millete ‘Obsessive’ During Day 14 of Murder Trial
Prosecutors also introduced Google searches from Larry’s accounts, including “fatal hemlock poisoning,” “best poison for a fast death,” “shot in the heart instant death,” and “How to confuse iPhone Find My App.”10Fox 5 San Diego. Larry Millete Trial Recap: One Month A vial containing a chemical found in poison hemlock was recovered from the Millete home.7Yahoo News. Live Updates: Larry Millete Murder Trial According to prosecutors, the spellcasting activity stopped once Maya went missing.11Fox 5 San Diego. Larry Millete Trial Day 6: Hitman Spells
The Night of January 7 and the Missing 444 Miles
Maya’s last known communication was a text at 8:15 p.m. on January 7, 2021. Her phone activity stopped at 1:25 a.m. on January 8. Investigators later determined through an experiment that her phone remained inside the house during that window, meaning she did not walk out with it.4Fox 5 San Diego. What Led to the Arrest of Larry Millete: DA Shares Evidence From 9-Month Investigation
A neighbor’s security camera recorded nine “loud bangs” at 9:57 p.m. that night, though the FBI could not confirm whether they were gunshots. Earlier the same day, Larry had texted his boss that the divorce was “final” and separately wrote, “I think she wants me to snap” and “I’m shaking inside ready to snap.”
At 5:58 a.m. on January 8, surveillance video showed Larry repositioning his vehicle so the rear cargo area was hidden from cameras. At 6:45 a.m., he left the home and was unaccounted for roughly 11 to 12 hours. His phone had been manually powered off despite a nearly full battery.10Fox 5 San Diego. Larry Millete Trial Recap: One Month The infotainment system of the family’s 2015 Lexus GX460 recorded a navigation event to the home address at 3:29 p.m., about two and a half hours before he returned.
Investigators later pulled “power on” data from the Lexus and identified 444 unaccounted miles driven that day, a distance consistent with a round trip to the remote desert between Blythe, California, and Quartzsite, Arizona, near the Colorado River Reservation.1210News San Diego. Investigator Testifies About Possible Location of Maya Millete’s Remains Multiple searches of that area turned up nothing. Lead investigator James Rhoades testified that “there were just too many possibilities” to pinpoint a burial spot.13NBC San Diego. Millete Murder Trial Day 24 Maya’s bank accounts have shown no activity since, and investigators confirmed no records of her crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
The Case Without a Body
Prosecutors have acknowledged they cannot prove how Maya died. Despite three search warrants executed at the home, no obvious crime scene was found. Investigators seized computers and electronics, collected samples, and took thousands of photographs but recovered no visible forensic evidence of blood or foul play.14NBC San Diego. Expert Says Missing Crime Scene Could Help Prosecution at Millete Trial The case is built on the timeline, the digital record, the spellcaster and search history, financial evidence including more than $90,000 moved into cryptocurrency, and a large fire in the Millete backyard on May 19, 2021, from which investigators recovered a burned credit card and unidentifiable papers.8NBC San Diego. Did the Spells Come True? Question During Larry Millete Hearing Draws Gasps in Court
Bowles pointed jurors to a message Larry sent his sister-in-law: “I always say, friends help you move. Real friends help you move dead bodies.”7Yahoo News. Live Updates: Larry Millete Murder Trial The prosecution rested on June 30, 2026, after roughly seven weeks and testimony from more than two dozen witnesses.15Yahoo News. Larry Millete Trial: Prosecution Rests
The Defense’s Argument
Larry Millete is represented by attorneys Eugene Iredale, Liann Sabatini, and Colby Ryan. The defense presented its case in less than three hours on July 1, 2026, calling just three witnesses. Larry did not testify.16Fox 5 San Diego. Defense Case in Larry Millete Trial
The core defense theory is that Maya could have left voluntarily. Private investigator Riley Mallory testified that a person could climb the backyard fence using an outdoor fire pit as a step and reach a trail through an area with no camera coverage.1710News San Diego. Defense Attorneys Present Case in Larry Millete Murder Trial On cross-examination, Mallory acknowledged he had not visited the property until 2026 and could not verify the state of the foliage or camera positioning in January 2021. Volunteer K-9 handlers Stephen and Stacy Agan testified that their cadaver dogs did not alert at the Millete home or in the family vehicle on January 23, 2021. Prosecutors pointed to gaps in the dogs’ training certifications.
The defense has also attacked the police investigation, arguing that detectives had “blinders on” and failed to adequately look into Jamey Laird’s alibi or other leads. Iredale publicly criticized a pretrial ruling by Judge Enrique Camarena that barred the defense from arguing third-party culpability, calling it “unconstitutional” and “unfair” in a case with no body, no crime scene, and no direct evidence.18NBC San Diego. Larry Millete’s Attorneys Battle to Question Investigators About Maya’s Alleged Lover
The Firearms Charge
Alongside the murder count, Larry faces a separate charge of illegal possession of an assault rifle. Photos on his phone showed 16 firearms on the family’s kitchen table, including two short-barreled AR-15 platforms illegal in California, five additional AR-15 rifles of undetermined legality, three pump shotguns, a bolt-action rifle, and five semi-automatic handguns, along with high-capacity magazines and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. A second photograph showed the couple’s four-year-old son standing on the table surrounded by the weapons.1910News San Diego. Gun Restraining Order Details Police Worries Over Larry Millete’s Access to Firearms One seized rifle was an unregistered semi-automatic assault weapon that had never been legally registered in California; the window to register had closed in September 2018.20Fox 5 San Diego. Day 3 of Larry Millete Hearing Begins A .40 caliber firearm registered to Larry was never recovered. Records also showed he purchased two additional firearms in February and March 2021, after the first search warrant but before a May 2021 gun violence restraining order was served.
Where the Trial Stands Now
Jury selection began on May 11, 2026, before Judge Camarena at the Chula Vista courthouse, with 12 jurors and 6 alternates seated from a pool narrowed to 139 candidates on the first day.21NBC San Diego. Jury Selection: Larry Millete Maya Millete Case Both sides have rested. Closing arguments are set for July 7, 2026, and the jury is expected to deliberate after that.22Times of San Diego. Closing Arguments in Millete Murder Trial Over Missing Wife Larry Millete, now 44, faces first-degree murder. Maya Millete has not been seen since January 7, 2021.