Prosecutor Delivers Closing Arguments In Larry Millete Murder Trial

CHULA VISTA, CA — A missing Chula Vista woman who vanished without a trace more than five years ago did not willingly abandon her family and was instead murdered by her husband because she sought to divorce him, a prosecutor argued Tuesday.

Closing arguments began Tuesday in the murder trial of Larry Millete, who is charged with killing his wife of 20 years, May "Maya" Millete, who has not been seen or heard from since Jan. 7, 2021. Her body has never been found, but police and prosecutors say there is no evidence to suggest she was alive after that date.

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Surveillance footage captured May entering the family's home at around 4:45 p.m. on 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., 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 for approximately 12 hours.

Investigators have been unable to pinpoint his whereabouts during that timeframe.

Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles told jurors Larry killed his wife -- potentially by poisoning her with a toxin present in a poisonous plant found throughout San Diego County -- then loaded May's body onto the SUV and disposed of her, likely in a remote area.

The prosecutor conceded to jurors that she could not explain exactly how the killing was committed, but argued that the fact that May remains missing supported that her killing was a criminal act.

"Bodies do not hide themselves," Bowles told the jury. "The fact that May Millete's body has not been found is actually evidence of pre- planning, premeditation, and it is evidence of his suppression of evidence."

Bowles said May did not disappear on her own and highlighted her plans for the coming year, which included a trip to Big Bear to celebrate her daughter's birthday, planned outings with friends in her newly purchased Jeep, and her pursuit of a master's degree.

"You know what he did. You know why he did it. You just don't know how," Bowles said. "But the law does not reward a murderer for successfully hiding a body. Just because there is no body does not mean he can't be held accountable for his crime."

Given the circumstantial nature of the case, much of the trial evidence centered on Larry Millete's alleged motive for killing May, which Bowles said stemmed from May's intention to leave her husband.

The prosecution detailed the couple's deteriorating marriage and Larry's "possessive, controlling" behavior toward May, which allegedly included tracking her whereabouts, obtaining access to her social media profiles and controlling her finances.

As May remained resolute to leave him, prosecutors say Larry turned to "spell casters" he believed could magically influence her behavior.

Jurors were presented with a multitude of emailed requests Larry made to purported magic practitioners, which evolved over the months leading to May's disappearance from requests to make her love him again to requests to make her sick or incapacitated so she would be forced to depend on him.

Bowles said the spell caster messages provided insight into his state of mind and suggested violent intentions, from his requests to cause physical harm to May, as well as spells he sought to kill a co-worker that May was having an affair with.

While the requests for "death spells" were directed toward May's co- worker, the prosecutor argued it showed "what his capabilities were and what his thought process was about how to handle a situation that is out of his control."

In messages Larry sent to his work supervisor and to spell casters on the afternoon of Jan. 7, he wrote, "I am not right," "I'm about to lose it," and "I'm shaking inside and ready to snap."

After May disappeared, his spell requests shifted away from May and onto her affair partner, because Bowles argued, "There's no more issue with May. That has been handled."

Bowles said, "His plan went to trying to keep her to deciding he would have to kill her, because the only option to make sure that she remained his wife was to kill her."

While the couple's close family members and friends testified that they never witnessed any incidents of domestic violence, a letter May penned to her daughters described Larry being physically abusive with her and that she wanted to ensure "he never puts his hands on me again."

"I'm literally afraid of your dad sometimes," May wrote. "He is capable of hurting me."

Bowles said other evidence pointing to Larry's guilt included the deletion of emails and text messages from his accounts shortly after May's disappearance and the presence of coniine, a poisonous compound found in the plant poison hemlock, inside a vial in the Millete home.

The prosecutor said Larry's internet search history showed he'd researched the plant for months prior to May's disappearance, as well as other chemical methods for incapacitating a person. She also said that per expert witness testimony, coniine is so poisonous that it serves no legitimate medicinal purpose and thus, Bowles said it would not be in his home for any innocent reason.

The defense is slated to deliver its closing arguments on Wednesday.

Just before Tuesday's closing arguments, a defense motion to acquit Larry due to insufficient evidence was rejected by Judge Enrique Camarena, but gave a potential view into the defense's arguments to be delivered to the jury.

Defense attorney Liann Sabatini said that the prosecution had not presented any hard evidence showing how or where May died, nor proof that she was dead at all.

"The People have not actually proven May Millete is deceased," Sabatini said.

The attorney said that the camera footage of the Millete neighborhood did not capture the rear of the house where a drainage ditch was accessible and that per a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer who testified, someone can leave the country through ports of entry without being tracked.

Sabatini also argued Larry's spell requests were indicative of his desperation and emphasized that they were made after discovering his wife was having an affair and lying to him about it.

Prior to the trial's start, the defense was barred by Judge Camarena from mounting a defense that pointed to James "Jamey" Laird, the co-worker who was having an extramarital affair with May during 2020, as a potential suspect in May's death. In pre-trial filings, the defense argued Laird had a potential motive because of the implications the affair's disclosure could have on his marriage and career.

But Camarena ruled Laird's involvement in the case did not satisfy the legal standard for admitting what's known as third-party culpability evidence, stating he'd found no direct or circumstantial evidence linking Laird to May's killing.

According to testimony from Laird and Laird's ex-wife, Laird was at a hospital between Jan. 7 and Jan. 10, 2021, after his then-wife went into labor and gave birth to their child.

Larry's defense attorneys have argued outside of the presence of jurors that they had been unfairly prevented from questioning investigators about their alleged inadequacies in confirming Laird's alibi.

Larry Millete faces up to 25 years to life in state prison if convicted of May's murder.

By JASON KUROSU / City News Service