Larry Millete, who is accused of killing his 39-year-old wife, Maya, in January 2021, was in the South Bay courthouse in Chula Vista on Thursday, ostensibly for a readiness conference.
It didn't take long, though, for the routine courthouse meeting to turn into a discussion of the defendant's mental health, the mental health of his three children and his access to them.
Larry faces one count of murder and one count of possession of an assault weapon. He has pleaded not guilty to all charges. At a lengthy preliminary hearing at the beginning of the year, prosecutors spent weeks presenting evidence that they said showed Larry's mental state amid his deteriorating relationship with Maya in the days before he allegedly snapped.
The May "Maya" Millette Case
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At the prelim, prosecutors presented phone call and text records that they said showed Larry's obsession with an affair she had. They told the court that evidence showed Maya went home on Jan. 7 and never left. Her cell phone disconnected days later, with its last location being their shared home.
On Thursday, Larry's attorney Bonita Martinez asked Judge Enrique Camarena for permission for Larry to call his three children daily, saying that not being able to talk to them is causing him “depression, anguish and distress.” She told the court that, while her client has made great progress through his therapy sessions, being able to hear from his children on a regular basis would benefit him even more.
Martinez described the current process of Larry communicating with the children as frustrating, saying that he writes them letters, then someone reads them and redacts the notes, then mails them, and it's a lengthy process to send them and receive a reply. Martinez also told the court that the children want to be able to talk to their father as well.
The prosecution argued, though, that it was unfair for Larry to place the burden of his happiness on his children. Deputy district attorney Christy Bowles told Camarena that Larry repeatedly violated his phone privileges in the past, even after his privileges were revoked.
Bowen told Camarena that a protective order prohibited him from having any contact with his children at all, but he then made hundreds of calls, with his jail-call privileges revoked in October 2021 because he violated the no-contact order. Then, Larry still made dozens of calls using another inmate’s PIN, Bowen said.
In the end, Camarena denied Larry's legal request to restore his phone privileges, pointing out that Larry's suffering is irrelevant because the protective order is in place to protect the children, not their father.
Other Developments in the May "Maya" Millete Case
Court watchers may remember that the preliminary hearing in the case, which lasted nearly two weeks in January, was held in the downtown San Diego courthouse and was presided over by Judge Dwayne Moring, who had been hearing the case up till that point and had been transferred to the courthouse in San Diego, a court official, Emily Cox, told NBC 7 on Thursday. However, the case has been reassigned to the South Bay courthouse, the jurisdiction where the crime is alleged to have occurred, and Camarena will preside over the trial in Chula Vista, Cox said.
In a recent hearing, Maya's sister Maricris Drouaillet filed court papers to have a conservator take control of Maya's estate in her absence. The documents stated that foreclosure proceedings were started on the Milletes' Chula Vista home by their lender due to missed mortgage payments and that "sufficient funds do not exist to continue making payments on the mortgage and maintain the house." A hearing has been set for Aug. 10 regarding the conservatorship.
Larry will be back in court in July for a status conference. His murder trial, which is set to begin Oct. 9, is expected to last for two months.
With reporting by NBC 7's Audra Stafford — Ed.
