CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — NOTE: This page will be updated throughout the day.
4:40 p.m. — Rhoades testified that text messages between Larry Millete and Maya Millete showed what he described as patterns of “obsession and control.” He said Maya often asked for space, wanted to be left alone, and discussed separating, while Larry repeatedly tried to persuade her to come back. Jurors heard that in June 2020, Larry sent about 473 messages to Maya, compared with 114 messages from her.
Jurors heard about exchanges in which Larry expressed love, apologized, and pushed for reconciliation. A key conversation centered on Maya confronting Larry for taking her journal without permission. Maya repeatedly asked him to leave her alone, while Larry said he read the journal to better understand her and continued reaching out despite her requests for space.
Prosecutors then presented journal entries recovered from the family home in 2021. The writings, attributed to Maya, date back to 2011 and describe struggles with her mother-in-law and concerns about her marriage. The entries are addressed to Maya’s two daughters; her son wasn’t born yet.
One entry alleged physical and verbal abuse by Larry and said she was sometimes afraid of him. Before court adjourned at 4:26 p.m., jurors were instructed that the journal could only be considered as evidence of Maya’s state of mind, not proof that the events described actually happened.
Rhodes testimony continues Tuesday morning.
3:20 p.m. —A supervising investigator from the district attorney's office took the stand in the afternoon, detailing his role in the Maya Millete case.
James Rhoades testified to reviewing a download of Larry Millete's cell phone, saying he found the following searches across Larry's web browsers in the year leading up to Maya's disappearance:
- "11 deadly plants you should never eat"
- “Water hemlock"
- "Plants you can take to never wake up"
- "Mystic Lunar coven"
- "How to tell if your partner is cheating according to a private investigator"
- "Subliminal wife training"
Rhoades testified there was a gap in Larry's search history from Dec. 30, 2020, to Jan. 10, 2021.
Maya Millete disappeared on Jan. 7, 2021.
Rhoades testified that on Jan. 11, there was a search on Larry's phone for "May Millete."
2:30 p.m. — Larry Millette's parents and his aunt, Kathy, are now allowed in the courtroom for the remainder of the trial. The defense made the request after the prosecution said in an email during the lunch break that it will not call them as witnesses.
Genesis Tabalanza has been excused from the witness stand after redirect from the prosecution. In her afternoon testimony, Tabalanza testified that text messages shown by prosecutors reflected Larry's anxiety over his separation from Maya while she was staying at Tabalanza's apartment.
According to Tabalanza, Maya was calm and wanted space to think, while Larry struggled to accept the separation.
Tabalanza said she tried to help Larry and advised him to "just let Maya go," but testified that he never accepted that advice.
Tabalanza described Maya as affectionate and attentive with her children and testified that she would never leave them behind.
12:30 p.m. — The defense finished cross-examination of Genesis Tabalanza just before the lunch break.
Larry Millete’s attorney, Colby Ryan continued going through pages and pages of text messages between Tabalanza and Larry throughout the summer of 2020.
The text conversations all centered on the couple’s marriage troubles.
According to the text conversations presented in court, Larry expressed concern about Maya's behavior and emotional distance, telling Genesis that he wanted Maya to love him again and admitting he was in a "dark place."
As the messages progressed through July and August 2020, Larry shared details of increasing strain in the marriage. He told Genesis that Maya had requested an open relationship and suggested that relationships with other men would not be considered cheating.
The messages also showed Larry discussing Maya's spending habits, including luxury purchases, beauty products, and expensive shopping trips. Tabalanza testified that Larry said he generally did not mind the spending and often emphasized that he simply wanted Maya to be happy.
Text messages show Larry frequently blamed himself for the couple's problems, telling Genesis he had been overly affectionate and clingy.
As Maya became increasingly distant, Larry discussed his efforts to save the marriage, including searching online for ways to win her back and exploring spellcasters. By December 2020, Larry said Maya was again threatening to end the relationship, while he described feeling physically and emotionally drained.
Just before the break, the prosecution began its redirect examination of Genesis Tabalanza; the court will continue at 1:30 p.m.
10:30 a.m. — Maya’s sister-in-law took the stand again, as the defense questioned her on dozens of text messages sent between her and Larry.
Genesis Nicholas-Tabalanza got visibly frustrated with defense attorney Colby Ryan and asked, “How many more pages are we going to go through?”
She said, “I’m sorry, your honor. It’s just too much.”
Judge Enrique Camarena told her this was the process as the questioning continued.
This is Tabalanza’s third day on the stand. The defense showed the jury multiple pages of text messages, showing how much she communicated with Larry in 2020.
She repeatedly told Ryan, “She’s checked out,” when referring to Maya’s state of mind.
Tabalanza testified that she believed Larry wasn’t giving Maya the space she needed.
In one text message exchange, Larry texted Tabalanza about Maya’s visit to Walmart.
On the stand, Tabalanza said, “She’s also a grown woman … this is someone that’s needing space.”
A couple women in the jury nodded their heads after that comment.
9:50 a.m. — Week 4 of the Larry Millete murder trial began with testimony from a former co-worker of Maya Millete, who testified that Maya did not have an idea of her own finances.
Claudia Julao first met Maya in August 2015, when Maya was her worked with at the Navy’s Southwest Regional Maintenance Center (SWRMC).
Julao described Maya—whom she called May—as a mentor, saying she was very welcoming and caring. They became friends outside of work and stayed in contact even after Julao left SWRMC to work in insurance and financial planning.
Maya reached out to her in October 2020 to do estate planning because she wanted to make sure that if anything happened to her, her children were taken care of. Through this process, Julao found that Maya did not have a grasp of her family’s finances.
“She was a very smart woman,” Julao said, finding it strange that Maya did not have basic information needed to start estate planning,
Julao said Maya asked her about divorce, but she never mentioned to her about planning for her own separation from her husband.
Julao said they were never able to set up a future meeting about estate planning with both Larry and Maya due to scheduling.
She testified she last communicated with Maya on New Year’s of 2021, wishing each other a happy new year. After that, Julao said she never heard from her again.
A photographer who was scheduled to take photos of Maya’s family also testified. Camille Camacho said Maya answered a model call, and they were scheduled to take pictures on Jan. 6, 2021.
A few days before the scheduled photo shoot, Maya asked to reschedule, saying she got into an accident and had bruises.
The nature of the accident wasn't revealed.
Camacho said they were going to reschedule to mid-January, but that never happened.
