A California mother of three didn’t walk away from her children in January 2021. Her husband killed her to stop her from leaving him, a prosecutor told jurors Tuesday as a six-week murder trial reached closing arguments.
San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles laid out digital evidence showing Larry Millete, 44, researched poison hemlock and hired spellcasters to control his wife Maya in the months before she vanished from their Chula Vista home on January 7, 2021. Her body has never been found.
“Maya Millete would not, could not, and did not leave her children on Jan. 7, 2021,” Bowles told the packed courtroom. “To think she would have walked away from her home on Jan. 7, 2021, and left her three children whose health and well-being she spent her life concerned about is not only unreasonable; it is unfathomable, and it is impossible.”
Evidence of Planning and Obsession
Prosecutors presented what they described as a sweeping timeline of digital evidence showing Millete’s attempts to prevent his wife from divorcing him. The 39-year-old mother had been planning to leave, according to her final messages with friends and family.
On the day she disappeared, Maya’s bags remained unpacked in the home. Her last communications with loved ones painted a picture of a woman concerned about her children’s welfare—not someone preparing to abandon them.
Packed Courtroom for Final Arguments
Family members and media filled the San Diego County courtroom in Chula Vista to overflow capacity Tuesday morning. The case has drawn intense attention since Maya’s disappearance more than five years ago.
Bowles portrayed Larry Millete as a man “hell-bent on preventing his wife from leaving him—even if it meant killing her.” The prosecution’s case rests heavily on circumstantial evidence and digital records, given that investigators have not recovered Maya’s remains.
The defense will present its closing arguments as the trial moves toward jury deliberations. The outcome hinges on whether jurors find the circumstantial case—including the poison research and spellcaster payments—sufficient to prove murder beyond reasonable doubt.
Key Points
- Larry Millete researched poison and hired spellcasters before his wife Maya disappeared in January 2021
- Maya’s unpacked bags and final messages showed concern for her children, making voluntary disappearance “impossible,” prosecutor argued
- Case relies on circumstantial evidence and digital records since Maya’s body has never been recovered
https://www.courthousenews.com/prosecutor-says-poison-spellcasters-and-obsession-led-to-maya-milletes-murder/ – July 08, 2026
