Millete Pleads Guilty To Assault Weapon Charge, Murder Sentencing In September

CHULA VISTA, CA — Larry Millete, the Chula Vista man recently convicted of murdering his missing wife, pleaded guilty Monday to a felony count of possessing an assault weapon, and is slated for sentencing in late September.

Millete was found guilty by a Chula Vista jury earlier this month of killing his wife of 20 years, May "Maya" Millete, who has not been seen or heard from since Jan. 7, 2021.

Jurors were not tasked with deciding the assault weapon count, which pertained to a firearm investigators found during a search of Millete's home.

With the assault weapon charge resolved during a quick change of plea hearing on Monday, Judge Enrique Camarena set sentencing on both counts for Sept. 29.

Millete faces up to 25 years to life in state prison for the first- degree murder conviction. The assault weapon count carries a maximum penalty of three years and no agreement has been made regarding what term he will receive for that count.

Though May's Millete's body has not been found, police and prosecutors say there is no evidence to suggest she is still alive.

Surveillance footage captured May entering the family's home at around 4:45 p.m. Jan. 7, 2021, but no video footage has captured her leaving.

According to trial testimony, her last known contact with anyone was in a text message with one of her sisters at around 8:15 p.m. Jan. 7, then her cell phone terminated all cellular connections at about 1:25 a.m. Jan. 8.

Larry -- whose phone also terminated cell connections on the morning of Jan. 8 -- allegedly left the family's home in an SUV at about 6:45 a.m. and did not return until about 6 that evening. His whereabouts during that time period remain unknown.

During the trial, which spanned nearly two months, Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles told jurors Larry killed his wife in their home, then loaded her body into an SUV and disposed of her on Jan. 8 during that 12-hour span.

While Bowles conceded to jurors that she could not specifically say how May Millete died, she argued Larry was the only person with the means and motive to kill her.

The prosecutor argued Larry engaged in possessive and controlling behavior towards his wife, which escalated after she made it clear she wanted to divorce him.

The prosecution's case relied on circumstantial evidence showcasing Larry's efforts to track his wife's whereabouts and solicit the assistance of "spell casters" he believed could magically influence May to give up her plans for divorce.

The requests to spell casters evolved over the months leading to May's disappearance from seeking to make her fall in love with him again to making her obey him to causing her to become sick or incapacitated so she would be dependent on him. Bowles argued those messages illustrated his capability to cause his wife physical harm and noted his spell requests abruptly ended following May's disappearance.

Larry's defense team argued jurors were being asked to speculate rather than rely on facts in a case that lacked a body, crime scene, murder weapon or eyewitnesses.

Defense attorney Liann Sabatini said in her closing argument that the behavior Bowles characterized as controlling was part of a "tragic investigation" in which Larry was trying to confirm whether May was continuing her affair with a co-worker.

Sabatini argued Larry was being psychologically abused and "gaslit" by May, who was denying the affair to family and friends while at the same time portraying Larry as "crazy" and "the villain" for suspecting it.

While she said jurors might not agree with how Larry handled the situation, Sabatini said, "There is no playbook for heartbreak."

Jurors deliberated for about five hours before returning a guilty verdict for first-degree murder.

— City News Service