Opening Statements in Trial of Larry Millete, Accused of Missing Wife's Murder

CHULA VISTA, CA — A "possessive, controlling" Chula Vista man murdered his wife, then disposed of her body after she sought to leave their 20- year marriage, a prosecutor contended Monday, while a defense attorney alleged there were "no credible answers" to how his client's wife disappeared, including any that could prove he killed her.

Opening statements were delivered to a Chula Vista jury on Monday in the trial of Larry Millete, who is accused of killing the mother of his three children, May "Maya" Millete, who has not been seen or heard from since Jan. 7, 2021.

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While May Millete's body has not been located, prosecutors said there is no evidence to suggest she's alive or voluntarily abandoned her family.

Her disappearance drew nationwide attention and prompted an array of searches conducted by her family members and friends that persisted for years after she vanished.

Larry Millete, 44, was arrested that October after prosecutors said they'd uncovered evidence suggesting he killed his wife because she sought to leave their marriage.

Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles told jurors that for Millete, "divorce was not an option" and that after pleading with his wife's family members for months for assistance and even allegedly paying "spell casters" to compel her to give up her plans for divorce, Millete murdered his wife in a way that was "so pre-planned, so well conceived, that to this day, her body has not been found."

While the prosecutor did not articulate how May Millete allegedly died or where her current whereabouts are, she said the evidence showed she likely was killed in the couple's home on the night of Jan. 7 or early morning hours of Jan. 8.

Based on surveillance footage of the Milletes' neighborhood, there is no evidence of May ever leaving the family home after the afternoon of Jan. 7, Bowles said.

At around 1:30 a.m., her cellphone was shut off and has never been recovered, the prosecutor said.

Footage capturing the house shows Larry Millete leave the home in an SUV at around 6:45 a.m. Jan. 8, then return home at about 6:30 p.m. During that time, Larry's boss tried to reach him because he did not show up for work and Larry's father also could not get a hold of him.

"He's gone for 12 hours and no one knows where he is," Bowles said.

The prosecutor said there is nothing to suggest May purposely abandoned her family, her career, or her life. Along with the lack of cellphone activity, Bowles said there is no financial trail tied to May, nor was there any sign of missing clothes or belongings when police searched the Millete house shortly after her disappearance.

Bowles said that throughout the year before she vanished, May discussed with family and friends her plans for leaving her marriage and she described her husband's controlling behavior that allegedly included monitoring her communications with other people, controlling her finances, and planting their daughter's cellphone in May's vehicle in order to track her.

The prosecutor said May allegedly told one of her friends that Larry said, "I'll never let you leave me. If you leave, no one will ever find you."

As the marriage crumbled, May began a relationship with a married co- worker during 2020, prompting Millete to try and contact their superiors in order to "sabotage" their careers with the U.S. Navy, Bowles said.

When May appeared resolute to divorce him, Millete allegedly bought a number of spells from supposed magic practitioners that he believed could make May fall back in love with him or depend on him.

Bowles argued that as Jan. 7 neared, the requests to spell casters grew more and more troubling, some of which called for the spell casters to "punish" May or have her incapacitated so she could not leave the home. He told one spell caster, "I'm shaking inside ready to snap" on Jan. 7, not long before May's last known sighting, Bowles said.

He also sought a spell to "banish" May's co-worker, then later asked for a "death spell" to be cast on the man.

While the prosecutor said Millete was previously controlling and fixated on knowing his wife's whereabouts at all times, his behavior rapidly changed after her disappearance, as Millete "seemed unconcerned" about where his wife was and didn't take part in the numerous searches for May in the months that followed.

He also ceased his requests for any more spells to be cast on May after she vanished and instead asked all spells to only be cast on May's co- worker.

Along with the internet searches regarding spells, Bowles said Millete searched for medications that could incapacitate adults and that a search of the home turned up a vial that tested positive for Coniine, a chemical compound found in poison hemlock that can cause paralysis and death.

But one of Millete's defense attorneys, Colby Ryan, said that while what happened to the Millete family was "an absolute tragedy," he urged jurors to carefully scrutinize the evidence and reject the prosecution's contention that Millete "was able to commit a perfect murder without a trace of evidence."

The attorney argued investigators overlooked and failed to fully examine a number of leads that could have pointed to other potential suspects and conducted an incomplete investigation because they were fixated on Millete as their suspect.

Ryan said evidentiary issues include a missing portion of the surveillance footage that prosecutors say showed Larry Millete leaving the family home in an SUV, which also does not capture alternate entrances and exits out of the residence.

The vial that tested positive for Coniine only did so after three other negative or inconclusive tests and there was no confirmation of poison hemlock's presence, he said.

Prosecutors said May's phone never left the Millete's house while it was on, but Ryan argued an initial examination showed the phone pinged a cell tower in another Chula Vista neighborhood.

He also said that while the prosecution was trying to claim Millete's spell requests conveyed his "murderous intent," he argued the frantic pleas Millete made to spell casters indicated he was "absolutely desperate to do whatever he can to keep the love of his life."

The trial at the Chula Vista courthouse is estimated to last around three months. Millete faces up to 25 years to life in state prison if convicted of murder, as well as an additional count of possessing an assault weapon.

By JASON KUROSU / City News Service