SAN DIEGO (Court TV) — After weeks of testimony, a California jury convicted a man of killing his wife, despite the fact that the victim’s body has never been found.
Larry Millete appears in court Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Chula Vista. (Court TV)
The jury deliberated for less than a day before finding Larry Millete, 44, guilty of first-degree murder in the death of his wife, Maya Millete, 39, KGTV reported.
Larry Millete had denied the charges but was unable to overcome the mountain of evidence prosecutors presented to the jury during the six-week trial. That evidence included testimony from spellcasters who said that they had been hired by the defendant with instructions to make Maya Millete “get sick and stay sick” until she realized she was in love with the defendant and to “banish everyone from her life with the exception of family.”
Maya Millete was last seen alive on Jan. 7, 2021; in the days and weeks before her death, she had confided in close friends and family that she was unhappy in her marriage and wanted to leave, but was concerned about how her husband might respond to a request to separate. “She did tell us that she wanted a divorce, and she did tell us that if anything happened to her, to look at her husband,” Maya Millete’s sister, Maricris Drouaillet, told Court TV in 2025. “She was very fearful about what might happen to her and the kids.”
“Today gives a little bit of justice on behalf of Maya and to her family for her being missing all these years. But it doesn’t bring closure,” Chula Vista Police Department Chief Dan Peak said after the verdict, KNSD reported. “She is still out there; she is still missing. And we are going to work tirelessly to continue looking for her and to try to find her and bring her home so she can be with her family.”
While Larry Millete’s defense tried to argue that his wife could still be alive and in hiding somewhere, jurors said they had no doubts about what had happened. “The prosecution was very impressive,” juror Beverly Feldman told Courthouse News. “The defense was way in over their heads. The burden wasn’t on them. It was on the prosecution, and they laid out evidence that was overwhelming. We could see what Larry did.”
The jury didn’t unanimously agree on how Maya Millete was killed, but prosecutors had suggested that she was likely poisoned with the toxic plant hemlock, The Mercury News said. Feldman said outside the courthouse that the panel believed the victim was likely poisoned or strangled.
No sentencing hearing was immediately scheduled; Larry Millete still faces an outstanding weapons charge that will be resolved before the case is closed. He waived a jury trial in that case, Courthouse News reported.
