CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — With a maroon sweater and light-colored collared shirt, Larry Millete stared straight ahead as the prosecution laid out the case against him during opening statements in a Chula Vista courtroom.
After years of delay, his murder trial began Monday. Larry Millete is accused of killing his wife. Maya Millete, in 2021. Her body has never been found.
Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles said Larry and Maya Millete were in an “unhealthy, toxic relationship.”
“Rather than let her leave, he killed her,” Bowles said.
SPECIAL SECTION: Search for Maya Millete
Larry was no longer wearing the mask he often wore during previous hearings. Instead, he wore black-rimmed glasses and a hearing aid, with his hair tied back in a ponytail.
Supporters of both Larry and Maya were in the courtroom. Some wiped away tears as the prosecution talked about Maya’s final days before her disappearance.
“She would not and could not leave her children,” Bowles said, referring to Maya as “May,” which is her legal name. Maya is what many of her friends and family called her.
Bowles said Maya had big plans. She would have turned 40 years old in 2021. She wanted to take adventures in her jeep. She also planned to leave her marriage.
On Jan. 8, Maya planned to take her children to Big Bear to celebrate her daughter’s birthday, but she disappeared the day prior—the day she reached out to a law firm to inquire about the divorce process.
Bowles said her husband loaded her body in the back of the family SUV, drove it to a remote location and disposed of her body. “His plan was so well-conceived, her body has never been found,” she said.
Bowles said the two married when Larry was 18 and Maya was 19. They moved from Hawaii and eventually settled in Chula Vista, where the couple had three children.
In the year prior to her disappearance, prosecutors said Maya began to open to her friends about her unhappiness in her marriage.
Bowles said Larry used spellcasters hoping they could help convince Maya to stay in the marriage. He also used them to hoping to incapacitate her so that she must depend on Larry for care.
Larry’s defense attorneys said that Maya was having an affair with a supervisor—and that investigators failed to fully investigate the affair.
The defense aalso pointed to other gaps in evidence throughout the police investigation that they say will leave the jurors with doubts.
Attorney Colby Ryan said there was no crime scene or direct evidence. He told the jury to “remove your preconceived notions” and ask that he receive a fair trial.
“We are confident you will see the lack of evidence,” Ryan said.
The first witness will be called Tuesday morning.
