Facebook/ Help Find Maya Larry Millete is accused of murdering his wife Maya Millete.
Larry Millete is the California man who has been charged with murdering his wife, May “Maya” Millete, who disappeared in January 2021. The San Diego County District Attorney’s office says the evidence points to murder even though Maya Millete’s body has not been found. She was 39 at the time of her disappearance and the mother of three children.
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Maya Millete’s Last Known Phone Call Was to a Divorce Attorney, Investigators Say
Maya Millete was reported missing on January 10, 2021, to the Chula Vista Police Department. Police said at the time that “family members” claimed they’d last seen Maya Millete at her home on January 7th.
Investigators now say there was strife within the marriage before she disappeared. The AP, citing San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan, reported that Maya Millete’s last known phone was to a divorce attorney.
According to Stephan, Larry Millete hired “spellcasters” to prevent his wife from divorcing him. “He was asking for May to become incapacitated so that she could stay at home, thus displaying his homicidal idealizations to harm May,” Stephan said.
The district attorney also said Larry Millete sent texts on January 7 that read, “I think she wants me to snap,” and “I’m shaking inside ready to snap,” KGTV reported.
2. Maya Millete’s Sister Says Larry Millete Was the Last Person to See Her Alive
Larry Millete stopped cooperating with detectives in early February and hired an attorney, according to NBC San Diego. The outlet reported Larry and Maya Millete argued before she disappeared and that he was the last person to see her alive.
Maya Millete’s older sister, Maricris Drouaillet, told NBC San Diego in February that she “can’t imagine him doing anything to our sister.” She added that Larry Millete had been “distancing” himself from his wife’s family for weeks.
Maya Millete’s family members launched a campaign to find her. As KFMB-TV reported, people involved in the search found it suspicious that Larry Millete wasn’t helping to find his wife and never attended vigils for her.
3. Police Named Larry Millete a ‘Person of Interest’ in July
Facebook/Help Find MayaMaya Millete was last seen in Chula Vista, California, in January 2021.
Police have interviewed dozens of people and executed at least 67 search warrants over the course of the investigation, according to a news release. The FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Services (NCIS) were also involved in the case.
The investigation included searches at the Millete home and at a relative’s house, police said. On May 7, 2021, police returned to Larry and Maya Millete’s home for another search. That same day, they also issued a gun violence restraining order to Larry Millete.
Police formally identified Larry Millete as a person of interest in his wife’s case on July 22, 2021. However, he was not arrested or charged with a crime at that time.
4. Investigators Say Larry Millete May Have Moved His Wife’s Body in the Family’s Lexus SUV
Despite nine months of searching, investigators have not found Maya Millete’s body. Larry Millete’s attorney, Bonita Martinez, says there’s no proof Maya Millete is actually dead, the AP reports.
But the district attorney’s office says there is circumstantial evidence suggesting Larry Millete may have disposed of his wife’s body. KGTV, citing the district attorney, reports that on January 8, Larry Millete moved his black Lexus GX 460 SUV to a spot where security videos couldn’t see the back of the vehicle.
He then left the home for nearly 12 hours, the district attorney says. He left his phone behind, along with the two older children. Fox5 reports he brought the 4-year-old child with him.
5. Larry Millete Faces a Murder Charge & a Weapons Charge
San Diego County Sheriff DepartmentLarry Millete is charged with murdering his wife, Maya Millete, who disappeared in January 2021.
Police filed charges against Larry Millete on October 19, 2021. He is facing a first-degree murder charge, plus a felony charge of illegal possession of an assault weapon, according to a news release from the district attorney’s office. NBC News reports the weapons charge was added because Millete had a semiautomatic rifle, which is illegal to own in California.
The Chula Vista Police Department arrested Millete and booked him into a San Diego County Jail. Inmate records show he is not eligible for bail. His mugshot was not made public.
The district attorney says Millete faces a potential sentence of life in prison if convicted of the charges.