Surveillance video shown in court during the preliminary hearing for larry Millete, accused of killing his wife Maya, traces a black SUV’s whereabouts in the days surrounding Maya’s disappearance.
Surveillance footage of Larry and May "Maya" Millete's Chula Vista home in the days surrounding Maya's disappearance does not show any signs of her ever leaving the house, a detective testified Friday, counteracting the husband's claims that his wife, whom he is accused of killing, left the home voluntarily.
May "Maya" Millete has not been seen or heard from since Jan. 7, 2021. Though her body has not been found, prosecutors allege her husband, 41- year-old Larry Millete, killed her because she sought to divorce him.
According to testimony Friday morning from Chula Vista police Detective Jesse Vicente, he and other police officers reviewed surveillance footage from the neighborhood surrounding the Millete home from the afternoon of Jan. 7 until Jan. 10, the day police responded to a missing person report made by May's sister.
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Vicente said footage captures May arriving at the home at around 3 p.m. Jan. 7, but she is never seen leaving the home afterward.
The footage captured a person police believe is Larry Millete leaving the home in a black SUV at around 6:45 a.m. Jan. 8. The SUV returned at around 6 p.m. that evening.
Larry Millete Preliminary Hearing Coverage
After family members lost touch with May, her younger brother, Jay-R Tabalanza, went to the Millete house on the evening of Jan. 8 to look for her. He testified last week that Larry told him he had just gotten home from work.
According to court documents filed by the prosecution, Larry Millete did not go to work from Jan. 6 through Jan. 8.
The documents also state Larry's phone was off from 6:45 a.m. until around 6:30 p.m. Jan. 8 and that Larry told investigators he was at Solana Beach all day with his son.
On Jan. 8 and Jan. 9, several members of May's family visited the Chula Vista home to search for her. Larry told Jay-R Tabalanza and May's father, Pablito Tabalanza that May was in an upstairs bedroom, which was locked. Pablito Tabalanza testified that Larry eventually let him into the bedroom and May was not there.
Larry later told family members that she was likely out hiking, according to testimony.
Preliminary hearing testimony indicates the marriage was crumbling in 2020, prompting Larry to reach out to several of May's family members and urge them to convince May to remain in the marriage.
Throughout 2020, May told family members, friends, and colleagues that Larry had been engaging in controlling behavior, including regularly monitoring her communications and wresting control of her finances, according to testimony.
Prosecutors have also alleged in court documents that in late 2020, Larry Millete reached out to "various individuals who appear to sell `spells,"' which he believed could compel May to want to remain in the marriage. Larry later allegedly sought spells that could render her incapacitated or "hurt enough that she will have to depend on me and need my help."
Larry was arrested in October 2021 on suspicion of killing May and has remained jailed without bail since then. At the conclusion of the preliminary hearing, a judge will rule whether there is enough evidence for Larry Millete to stand trial for murder.
The Maya Millete Case: This is an entry in NBC 7's live blog coverage of the Larry Millete Hearing. To read other entries, CLICK HERE
