Husband will stand trial for murder of missing Maya Millete

Larry Millete sits in San Diego Superior Court on Jan. 11 during his preliminary hearing. He will be tried for murder in the death of his still-missing wife, May “Maya” Millete. SCREENGRAB

SAN DIEGO —  A judge ordered Larry Millete, 41, to stand trial for the murder of his estranged wife, Maya Millete, 38, who disappeared from their Chula Vista home two years ago and remains missing.

San Diego Superior Court Judge Dwayne Moring ruled that  Millete made the ruling on Sept. 14 in Chula Vista. Larry Millete had pleaded not guilty to the murder charge.

The Chula Vista mother of three, Maya Millete, was last seen on Jan. 7, 2021. Her body has not been found.

Moring’s ruling came after the court heard from some 20 prosecution witnesses the couple’s including friends, family and investigators. Larry Millete’s defense did not call any witnesses of its own. .

The Chula Vista mother of three, Maya Millete, 38, was last seen on Jan. 7, 2021.

Prosecution reported Maya Millete’s efftort to get a divorce and her husband’s attempt to control her. He allegedly even hired online spell casters to get her to stay, and soon after she disappeared, he communicated with a spell caster to remove her as the target and instead aim the spells at the man she was having an affair with.

Defense attorney Bonita Martinez argued that the prosecution “heavily relied on circumstantial evidence,” and said the search for Maya Millete “should be among the living, not the dead,” the San Diego Union Tribune reported

Martinez suggested Maya Millete left of her own accord and that the defendant “can tell you that he loves his wife very much and he did not kill her.”