A Chula Vista man accused of murdering his wife planted a cell phone in his wife's vehicle in order to track her whereabouts about six months before she disappeared, his sister-in-law testified Wednesday.
Genesis Nicolas-Tabalanza said that in mid-2020, her brother-in-law Larry Millete admitted in text messages to putting his daughter's phone in his wife's vehicle. His wife, May Millete, found the phone and was so upset by this that she threatened to leave the marriage, Nicolas-Tabalanza testified Wednesday.
Larry, 41, is charged with murdering his wife, who has not been seen or heard from since Jan. 7, 2021. In a declaration in a separate court case, Millete stated that he believed his wife left their home voluntarily.
As other members of May's family have testified during Millete's preliminary hearing, Larry began reaching out to them more frequently than ever before in 2020 for help regarding his deteriorating marriage.
Get top local stories in San Diego delivered to you every morning. >Sign up for NBC San Diego's News Headlines newsletter.
Nicolas-Tabalanza said Larry began calling and texting her frequently for advice on the marriage and at some point, Larry said he was becoming "desperate."
He told Nicolas-Tabalanza that if May didn't stay with him, he would threaten May's job by exposing an alleged affair she was having with a co-worker, according to text messages revealed in court.
Local
NBC 7 will bring you the Millete hearing — expected to last two to three weeks — unless required to stop by the court, every day. Watch Live in the player above, on Roku Channel 134 or Samsung TV+ 1035
Later, he told Nicolas-Tabalanza that he was looking into the use of magic spells that could compel May to remain in the marriage.
“I've been thinking about apprenticing under a spellcaster if I find a good one,” Larry texted Nicolas-Tabalanza, who replied, "Like what do you mean?”
Nicolas-Tabalanza told the court that Larry should not mess with evil spirits.
During a New Year's 2021 trip to Glamis, May told Nicolas-Tabalanza to stop answering Larry's calls because "Anything you say to him is going to be used against me."
May also said she was planning to file for divorce soon and "If anything happens to me, it will be Larry," Nicolas-Tabalanza testified. May's sister, Maricris Drouaillet, previously testified that she also heard this exchange.
The Maya Millete Case: This is an entry in NBC 7's live blog coverage of the Larry Millete Hearing. To read past entries, CLICK HERE
