May Millete's Supervisors Allege Rumors Of Affair With Subordinate In Testimony

SAN DIEGO, CA — May "Maya" Millete's work supervisors testified Tuesday that they received a series of accusations in early 2020 alleging she had an affair with a subordinate, as well as requests to have her separated from certain male co-workers.

The testimony came in the ongoing murder trial for May's husband, Larry Millete, who is accused of killing his wife, who has not been seen or heard from since Jan. 7, 2021.

Derek Sopp, Maya's immediate supervisor at Southwest Regional Maintenance Center -- or SWRMC -- testified that in early 2020, accusations of an affair were leveled against May in a series of phone calls to various people, including May, Larry, and higher-ups at the command.

The phone calls alleged Maya was having an affair with a married co- worker, James "Jamey" Laird, prompting a meeting at work that included Maya, Laird, and Larry Millete, Sopp testified.

During the meeting, Maya and Laird both denied the affair and Laird suggested the phone calls might be coming from his mother-in-law, according to Sopp, who said he believed at the time that the accusations were false and stemmed from a misunderstanding.

But after that meeting, Sopp said he received an email from Larry asking Sopp to transfer a different male employee to another division at SWRMC. Larry wrote that this "would help (May) reset herself and our relationship as well."

Sopp did not respond to that email, but he received a second email from Larry a few days later. This email reiterated his request to have the male employee transferred and stated "She has gotten a little too personal with him" and "it's putting quite a strain on our relationship."

Sopp responded this time and refused the request, he testified.

The following month, SWRMC's executive director, John Robinson, received similar emails from an anonymous sender who described themselves as a "whistleblower."

This person accused Maya of engaging in "fraternization" and "favoritism" with the same male employee.

The sender mentioned, "Her husband was quite upset about it and Derek Sopp knows about it," Robinson testified.

Robinson confirmed that if such a transgression occurred, it could result in termination, particularly for the supervisor involved in the inappropriate relationship.

One day before Maya disappeared, Sopp testified that May called him and sounded "very shaken."

She said that after telling Larry she wanted to divorce him, Larry threatened to "ruin her professionally," which Sopp took to mean reviving the affair investigation at SWRMC.

Sopp testified that he had only witnessed May that upset on one prior occasion, about a year earlier.

On that occasion, he noticed the usually "upbeat, smiling" Maya was upset and asked her what was wrong.

Sopp testified that May said she wanted to separate from Larry and described Larry's "very controlling" behavior, which included insisting she keep her cell phone's location on at all times, having the passwords to her social media accounts so he could see who she was speaking with, and having full control of their finances.

Testimony from earlier in the trial touched on an instance in which Larry allegedly planted one of their daughters' cell phones in Maya's vehicle in order to track her, prompting Maya to threaten to call the police or get a restraining order against Larry.

Prosecutors have alleged Larry Millete was controlling and possessive of his wife and went to extreme lengths to monitor her whereabouts and communications before allegedly murdering her because she sought to divorce him.

Police say there is no evidence of May leaving the family's Chula Vista home after the afternoon of Jan. 7, nor any evidence to suggest she was alive after that date.