A Filipino American man has been convicted of murdering his Filipina wife in California, even though her body has never been recovered.
A Chula Vista jury needed two days to reach its decision, ultimately returning a unanimous first-degree murder verdict against Larry Millete in connection with the 2021 disappearance of his wife, Maya, a Filipina mother of three. Fox 5 San Diego reported that the panel weighed close to two months of testimony before arriving at the guilty finding.
Prosecutors built their argument around a marriage they said was falling apart. Deputy district attorney Christy Bowles told jurors that Larry grew desperate as Maya moved to leave him, pointing to digital records and witness testimony that she said showed him consulting online spellcasters, deploying subliminal messages, and using surveillance tools to keep hold of his wife. Court testimony indicated Maya had filed for divorce and was involved in a relationship with a co-worker.
The conviction rests entirely on circumstantial evidence, according to NBC San Diego, because investigators have neither established how Maya died nor located her body. She was last seen on January 7, 2021, and remains missing five years on.
For Maya’s family, the verdict settled only part of the matter. Her sister, Maricris Drouaillet, said the effort to locate her has not ended. “Justice probably has been served today, but we still have my sister out there,” she said, appealing to the public for help in returning Maya to her three children.
Larry, who was taken into custody in October 2021 roughly nine months after Maya vanished, faces a possible sentence of 25 years to life. A sentencing date has not been scheduled, as a separate hearing tied to an assault weapon charge must first be resolved.
Same accuracy flag stands: the source’s “five years later” doesn’t square with a verdict following a January 7, 2021 disappearance and a two-month trial — that math lands closer to four years. Worth verifying against the original before it goes to print.
