CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — NOTE: This page will be updated throughout the day.
12:30 p.m. — Maya Millete's brother, Jay-R Tabalanza, took the stand and described a close relationship with his sister.
Tabalanza told the court that in early 2020, his communication with Larry Millete increased significantly. Before 2020, the two rarely spoke by phone, but Larry began calling frequently, sometimes more than once a day, to discuss his marital problems with Maya.
Tabalanza said he would sometimes have multiple missed calls from Larry, and when he called back, Larry would ask, "Are we good?" Larry also asked Tabalanza to help convince Maya to stay in the marriage, though Tabalanza said he stayed out of it.
Tabalanza confirmed that Maya moved in with him and Genesis for approximately six weeks in May 2020 because she wanted to separate from Larry.
Tabalanza also described a drive to Lakewood for a family gathering with Maya and their children. He said he had planned several stops along the route, and at each stop, Maya received a phone call he believed was from Larry. He said Maya's responses were consistent at each stop, explaining that her brother needed to pick something up. He said her demeanor was quiet during the calls.
At a trip to Lake Havasu, Tabalanza said Larry approached him and told him Maya had admitted to an affair. Larry also told him he wanted to "get the other guy." Tabalanza said he did not ask Larry what he meant, but described Larry's tone as panicked and unlike his normal voice. Tabalanza said he was uncomfortable with the conversation, particularly when Larry began sharing details about Maya and the other man. Tabalanza said he told Larry, "think about your kids, not worth it."
About a month later, in August 2020, Tabalanza said he received a panicked call from Larry asking him to come to the house and speak with Maya, who was threatening to file a restraining order against Larry. Tabalanza and Genesis went to the house and met with Larry in the garage. Tabalanza then reached out to Maya, who responded with a series of text messages.
Those text messages, shown to jurors as exhibits, showed Maya sending rapid-fire messages expressing frustration and describing what she called years of mental and emotional abuse by Larry. In the messages, Maya wrote:
"Why the hell is everyone calling me?"
"Have you not realized how good he is at manipulating?"
"I'm so tired of his mental and emotional abuse."
"I'm tired of it, and he's good at it, and he's got you all in his pockets."
"And I'm alone and isolated."
In later messages, Maya described Larry monitoring her emails, messages, and Messenger account, and said the controlling behavior had never stopped and had gotten worse. She also wrote:
"If he comes near me or touches me, I will call the police. I don't care if he loses his job anymore."
"He thinks I'm hormonal, having a midlife crisis, he even thinks I was hypnotized."
Tabalanza said he had never heard any of this information from Maya before and that the exchange changed his perspective. He said the volume and tone of Maya's messages were not typical of her.
11:30 a.m. — Maya Millete's brother-in-law, Teodie Fetalvero, briefly took the stand and told the court he has known Larry Millete since about 2003. Fetalvero, who is married to Maya's sister Jane, said Larry did not commonly call him, but in 2020 he received several calls from Larry in a single day. Larry asked about new tires on Fetalvero's car and also asked if Fetalvero knew what was going on between Larry and Maya, saying the two had been fighting.
Fetalvero also described an unusual interaction with Larry at a Christmas gathering in Lakewood in 2020. He said he was in the backyard before moving to the front yard to look for his keys, where he encountered Larry.
"He said I'm still stressed and depressed. He said, 'Our marriage is getting worse,'" Fetalvero said.
Fetalvero testified that Larry then said he wanted to get rid of Maya's boyfriend, adding that he would have to plan it carefully and that if he did it in the 'building', the police would come.
Fetalvero said Larry appeared serious and looked depressed when he made those statements. When asked if he understood what Larry meant, Fetalvero said yes, that Larry was referring to Maya's boyfriend.
10:10 a.m. — Maya’s older sister took the stand, saying that she was close with her sister growing up.
Jane Fetalvero testified that her family spent plenty of time with the Milletes during their 20-year marriage.
She testified that in 2020, communication with Larry changed when he started asking for marriage advice. Fetalvero said she tried to help, but he texted frequently and she has four children and works full-time.
“I said give her some time. Maybe she’ll realize, just give her some space,” Fetalvero testified.
It wasn’t common for the siblings to confide in private matters, preferring to “enjoy whatever we have” while they were together.
In late 2020, the family did talk about the marital troubles between Larry and Maya during a party. The siblings were trying to see if there was anything they could do to help repair their marriage, but Fetalvero said her sister asked why she couldn’t raise the kids as co-parents rather than husband and wife.
“She wanted to go on with her life, separate,” Fetalvero testified, adding that it was unusual for the siblings to have such a personal conversation.
By December 2020, their marital problems were apparent with Fetalvero saying they were no longer affectionate with each other.
The last communication between the sisters included talks about buying a trailer.
“We wanted to get trailers so the whole family can spend more time. We wanted to go cross-country,” Fetalvero said, fighting back tears on the stand.
On Jan. 10, 2021, she testified that she went to the Millete home when they couldn’t find Maya. “I called hospitals around the area,” Fetalvero said through her tears.
9:20 a.m. — Maya Millete’s brother continued his testimony on Thursday morning, saying that he never feared for his sister’s safety.
Jaypie Tabalanza told defense attorney Colby Ryan that it never crossed his mind that Larry would hurt his sister and that he trusted him.
Although Jaypie said that Larry “wanted to get the other guy” in reference to Maya’s affair, he confirmed that he never saw Larry physical with Maya or the children.
During the redirect examination by Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles, Jaypie said he has a different opinion of Larry now. He testified that after the search warrant on his house, “he cut us off.”
Larry Millete is accused of killing his wife after she asked for a divorce. The couple has three children.
Maya was last seen Jan. 7, 2021. Her body has never been found.
