May "Maya" Millete disappeared from her Chula Vista home more than three and a half years ago. Her body has never been found. Since her disappearance, her husband, Larry Milliete, was charged with her murder, which he denied in court nine months after she went missing.
Since his arrest, the couple's three children have been in the custody of Larry's parents.
May "Maya" Millete Murder Case
However, one of the children’s aunts, Maricris Drouaillet, who lives in Riverside County with her husband and their kids, has filed for custody of May and Larry's children. Larry is fighting Drouaillet's efforts, and on Monday, their legal teams met at the start of a custody trial that is expected to last up to a week.
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Outside the downtown San Diego courtroom, Larry’s mother told NBC 7 that “we are fighting for our grandchildren."
Drouaillet declined to speak on camera, saying, instead, that her family would wait until after the guardianship trial concludes with the judge’s decision on who will take custody of the Milletes' three minor children.
Also on Monday, Larry was in court in South Bay as part of his criminal prosecution. The freshly-short defendant was seen whispering to his two new attorneys, who were in the Chula Vista courtroom to ask for an extension, which they plan to officially request before Larry's next hearing in September. The murder trial is currently scheduled to begin in early January, which will be almost four years to the day since Maya’s disappearance and more than three years since his arrest.
In a jailhouse interview, Larry told NBC 7 that he is innocent and doesn’t understand why everyone seems to think he could kill the woman he loved.
