CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — NOTE: This page will be updated throughout the day.
4:30 P.M. - Court is in recess and will resume Thursday morning.
The defense began its cross-examination of Maricris Drouaillet. She testified that she didn’t believe the allegations that Maya was having an affair.
She told the defense in 2020 that she would advise Larry, try to help with their marriage, or provide whatever advice he was looking for.
She told the defense that she hoped the two could repair their marriage.
Drouaillet said that Larry would tell her that Maya was having a midlife crisis and that she should take certain vitamins.
During cross-examination, Drouaillet had difficulty, at times, remembering certain things Defense attorney Ryan was asking her, at one point getting emotional, apologizing, saying, “I don’t recall, it’s been five years”
3:23 P.M. - Maricris Drouaillet's testimony continues. She testified that she has never seen her sister, Maya, again, despite the family having plans together in 2021. Those plans included celebrating Maya’s 40th birthday.
On the stand, Drouaillet was asked about her efforts to find her sister. She said the search included putting up flyers, creating social media pages, and turning to the news media. She testified about the strangers who stepped up to volunteer to help find Maya, calling them "angels sent to us."
Drouaillet revealed that her family was getting ransom requests early on in the search, from people claiming to have Maya. Those requests were all forwarded to the Chula Vista Police, and they never panned out.
When asked about Larry Millete’s involvement in the search for his wife, Drouaillet became very emotional, saying he had never helped or offered to help.
“No, not at all. He didn’t even, on that Sunday, he didn’t even volunteer,” Drouaillet said.
“It was like, hey, Maya’s missing, oh well,” she added, about Larry's behavior.
2:45 P.M. - After lunch, Maya Millete’s sister, Maricris Drouaillet, continued her testimony on the stand.
Drouaillet was asked about a New Year’s Eve trip the family took to Glamis the week before Maya went missing.
Drouaillet testified that this was the first time her sister had opened up about her marriage troubles. She says Maya told her and a few other family members that she had made up her mind and was planning on filing for divorce from Larry.
“It was a serious voice, like she meant what she’s saying. It was almost like just like telling us, this is it. That she’s serious about getting divorce. That she’s already made up her mind,” Drouaillet said.
Drouaillet said Maya was ready to pawn off her belongings, including a Rolex watch and a designer purse, to get money for the divorce filing.
“She said she’s going to pawn her Rolex watch and her Louis Vuitton purse to us because she needed 10k to pay for the divorce lawyer,“ Drouaillet said.
The prosecution played the 911 call Drouaillet made to report her sister missing on the night of January 9th.
After playing the 911 call, Drouaillet became emotional, recounting why she eventually called the police.
“She wouldn’t miss that day, she wouldn’t. She’ll be home by then,” Drouaillet said, referring to Maya, never missing her children’s birthdays. Her daughter was turning 11, just days after her disappearance.
“Larry’s not concerned, that’s why I called. That’s not my sister. She should have been home by then,” added Drouaillet.
11 A.M. - Court is in recess until after lunch at 1:30 p.m.
Before the break, Maya’s sister Maricris Drouaillet continued her testimony.
Drouaillet said she learned Maya and Larry were having problems in their marriage because Larry started reaching out to her, asking for help in the relationship.
“He started calling us, calling me, telling me what’s going on with the marriage, asking for advice for marriage,” Drouaillet said.
Drouaillet testified that she never asked Maya about her marriage problems when Larry started reaching out because she said sometimes the siblings chose not to get involved.
Drouaillet said Maya didn’t bring up her marriage problems to her until a family trip to Glamis for New Year’s Eve in 2020.
Before the lunch break, Drouaillet shared about the frequent trips she, Maya, and other siblings took together.
In June of 2020, Drouaillet says the Tabalanza siblings all went to Parker, Arizona, but she testified that Larry did not join the trip.
The families then took a trip to Havasu in July of 2020, and Drouaillet testified that Larry and Maya were fighting and on a couple of occasions would be gone for an hour or two.
Drouaillet said Maya looked very irritated with Larry and could tell there was tension between them.
9:51 a.m. - The prosecution called its fourth witness to the stand after Maya’s father, Maricris Drouaillet, Maya’s sister. Drouaillet has led the charge to find Maya since she went missing.
Drouaillet testified that she learned about her sister's marital issues from Larry in 2020. She was surprised to learn that Maya had temporarily moved out of their family home in May of 2020.
Drouaillet said that her sister wanted to keep their marital problems to herself. "She doesn't want to worry the family," she testified.
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After an emotional day of testimony Tuesday, court resumed in the Larry Millete murder trial with his father-in-law returning to the stand.
Larry is accused of killing his wife Maya in Jan. 2021. Her body has never been found.
Cross-examination by defense attorney Colby Ryan was short, lasting just a few minutes.
SPECIAL SECTION: Search for Maya Millete
During the defense's questioning on Wednesday morning, Pablito Talabanza testified about his daughter and Larry at a Christmas party in 2024, saying that the marriage was not looking good at the time.
Talabanza said that Larry showed him a gun about a month before Maya disappeared, and said he thought it was a joke.
It was Tuesday afternoon when Talabanza broke down in the courtroom during his testimony when recalling the gun incident. He said Larry told him that he wanted to kill someone, but he did not say who. During that line of questioning, Talabanza started sobbing and shouting at Larry, “I loved my daughter very much. Why did you do this?”
After that emotional outburst, the defense asked for a mistrial, but Judge Enrique Camarena denied it.
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