On Jan. 7, 2021, Maya Millete contacted a divorce lawyer to begin the separation process with her husband, Larry Millete. Investigators believe that Larry killed Maya later that evening. Nine months after her disappearance, Larry Millete was arrested for his wife’s murder in their Chula Vista home.
While Maya’s family insisted that her sudden absence was highly suspect, Larry Millete alleged that Maya had selfishly abandoned him and their three school-aged children.
San Diego District Attorney Summer Stephan believes the evidence against Millete is enough to move forward, though the victim’s body has yet to be recovered. California law allows for the filing of murder changes even without the victim’s body.
An arrest warrant affidavit filed last week states that Millete sent hundreds of emails to ‘psychics’ and ‘spirit channelers’ in an attempt to hex or injure his wife.
In a recent interview on Court TV, Denver defense lawyer Jeffrey Wolf discussed the unusual nature of the evidence and the pervasiveness of murder cases involving domestic violence.
“What a tragedy…” said Wolf. “We’re starting to see a lot more of these domestic violence, disappearance cases…and what seems like such a ‘how could they even charge this person—they don’t even have a body’…all of a sudden you show up at trial and you get the answers…all of sudden the trial starts and you get forensic evidence that’s backing up what’s in that affidavit that’s made public.”Watch the video for details about this case and for more commentary from Jeffrey Wolf.
