Larry Millete Found Guilty: What Happened to Maya Millete, and What We Know Now
When we recorded our episode on Maya Millete, the trial had just begun. We had no idea how fast justice would move. On July 9, 2026, after just five hours of deliberation, a jury found Larry Millete guilty of first-degree premeditated murder. Maya's body has never been found. Here is everything that happened, from the night she disappeared to the verdict that finally gave her family the answer they had been waiting five years to hear.
She Was Already on Her Way Out
Maya Millete, known to everyone who loved her as "May", was a 39-year-old mother of three living in Chula Vista, California. She was a Department of Defense administrative specialist, a guitar player, a motorcycle rider, and by all accounts, a deeply devoted mother. Her nickname came from her own mother, who said her voice sounded like the songbirds she remembered from the Philippines.
By January 2021, May had made a decision. The marriage was over. She had been quietly preparing for months, researching divorce attorneys, setting money aside, even considering selling Rolex watches and designer bags that she thought Larry wouldn't notice were gone. She had stayed with her brother for a period of time and, according to those who knew her, her health improved almost immediately. She slept better. She ate again. She seemed like herself.
On January 7, 2021, she called a law firm and scheduled a consultation with a divorce attorney for the following week. She wanted to get through her daughter's upcoming birthday first. Her last confirmed communication was a Facebook message to her family that evening, sharing an ad she had come across.
After that, no one ever saw Maya Millete again.
What Larry Was Doing While Maya Was Planning to Leave
While May was taking careful, methodical steps toward freedom, Larry Millete was unraveling.
Investigators would later uncover that in 2020, Larry had been conducting internet searches for toxic plants, including water hemlock, as well as sedatives and medications that cause incapacitation. He searched for "subliminal wife training" and ways to control a partner's behavior. He asked a family member if he knew anyone who could harm the man he believed May was involved with, and said he would pay.
He also spent more than $1,000 on spell casting websites, sending hundreds of emails, sometimes multiple times a day, to companies that advertised spiritual intervention. Early messages asked for help saving the marriage. Later ones asked for May to be made miserable without him. In one email, he wrote that he felt like he was going to snap. In another, he asked for help arranging an accident that would make her dependent on him again.
On the night of January 7, at 9:57 p.m., a neighbor's security system recorded the sound of nine loud bangs. At 10:34 p.m., the same neighbor heard children playing outside in the Millete backyard, unusual for a cold school night. At 1:25 a.m. on January 8, May's phone went silent. It had never left the neighborhood.
At 2:36 a.m., Larry sent one final email to a spell casting website. Then he never sent another one about May again.
The Morning After
At 5:58 a.m. on January 8, security footage showed Larry repositioning his Lexus in the driveway, backing it in at a new angle that blocked the camera's view of the garage. He left at 6:45 a.m. His phone was off for nearly the entire day. He did not return until 6:06 p.m., almost twelve hours later. The car's navigation system showed an entry directing him home that afternoon, but no record of where he had been before that.
When May's brother came to check on her that evening, Larry initially told him he had been at work all day. Then he changed his story and said he had taken their son to the beach. He told the brother he would let him know when May came out of her room.
That never happened.
The Investigation
When police arrived, everything May owned was still in the house. Her purse. Her clothes. Her jewelry. Her expired passport. There had been no activity on her bank accounts or credit cards. All the family vehicles were accounted for. There was no sign she had left on her own.
Inside the home, investigators found a rectangular section of wall near a bedroom door that had been recently repaired, consistent with someone punching through it to unlock the door from the inside. In the garage, there was a strong smell of bleach. Bath mats were laid over trash cans, appearing to dry. A freezer that had been in the garage was gone. It was later found at a relative's home.
Larry had deleted all text messages between himself and May from before January 9, saying he needed to free up space on his phone. He had also given several firearms to a relative because, he later admitted, he believed law enforcement would be coming.
The Arrest, the Trial, and the Verdict
On October 19, 2021, more than nine months after May was last seen, Larry Millete was arrested and charged with first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty.
The case crawled through the courts. A competency evaluation in 2022. A preliminary hearing in early 2023 that lasted two weeks. Years of delays. By the time jury selection finally began on May 11, 2026, it had been more than five years since May disappeared.
When we recorded our episode on this case, the trial had just started. We talked about the spell casting emails, the toxic plant searches, the repositioned car, the missing freezer. We said we couldn't wait to see where it went.
We didn't have to wait long.
On July 9, 2026, after just five hours of deliberation, the jury returned a verdict: guilty of first-degree premeditated murder.
A juror spoke outside the courthouse afterward. "He knows where she's at," she said.
Maya's family wept. Her sister Maricris, who had been granted legal guardianship of all three of May's children in August 2024, was there to hear it.
What Happens Next
On July 20, 2026, Larry appeared in court for the first time since the verdict. He pleaded guilty to a separate, unrelated charge, possession of an unregistered assault weapon, clearing the path for sentencing in the murder case.
Sentencing is set for September 29, 2026. First-degree murder carries 25 years to life in prison. The gun charge could add up to three additional years. Larry has been locked up since late 2021, so nearly five years will count as time served.
Maya's body has still never been found. Her children are with her sister. And the man who killed her is going to prison.
48 Hours Is Covering This Case This Weekend
CBS's 48 Hours is airing an update episode on the Maya Millete case this Saturday, July 26 at 10/9c, reported by Jonathan Vigliotti. If you want the full story before you watch, or if you just watched it and want to go deeper, our episode covers everything from the beginning.
Listen to our full episode on Maya Millete wherever you get your podcasts. And if you want to keep up with every case we're watching, including the ones heading to trial this fall, subscribe to Moms and Mysteries so you never miss an update.
