48 Hours: Larry Millete verdict fails to address the central question - inside allegations and digital evidence 

48 Hours reported that a 39‑year‑old mother of three kids, Maya Millete, was last spotted in California on January 7, 2021. In October of the same year, Larry Millete was taken into custody and charged with his wife's murder.

He went on trial five years later in Chula Vista, outside San Diego. After the jury finished its discussion, the court announced the decision, and Larry was declared guilty of murder. The prosecutor, Christy Bowles, said,

"No verdict can erase the pain of losing May or the years of uncertainty that have endured. But we hope today's outcome provides a measure of justice and accountability."

The CBS News legal analyst and criminal defense attorney, Caroline Polisi, reported the Case by Case episode on July 10. This case was built mostly on circumstantial evidence about a missing body, and 48 Hours reported it for weeks.

The podcast featured testimony from Maya's friends and family to her former lover and that man's ex-wife. And then there was the spellcaster. But even with this verdict, one central question remains. Where is Maya's body?

Continue reading more about the story.

48 Hours: Maya Millete's disappearance and domestic turmoil

48 Hours first reported on Maya's disappearance back in 2021 and 2022. Her sister, Mary-Kris Drouillet, said that she was a talented, intelligent, gentle, and caring person.

Maya and Larry met and married young, and both went on to work for the U.S. Navy. They waited a few years before having their three kids. When Maya vanished without a trace, Mary-Kris couldn't process it.

The family and community searched for Maya everywhere, but court testimony revealed there were serious problems inside the Miliete home. As the true-crime podcast talked about in their previous episodes of Case by Case, testimony showed Maya's growing concern with Larry's efforts to control her.

Mary-Kris's initial 911 call played in court referenced fights and violence. Larry's arrest warrant for Maya's murder also revealed the victim telling a friend that Larry had once choked her until she passed out. The defense has maintained there's no evidence of domestic violence between the two.

Maya's divorce plans and Larry's obsession to control his wife

Maya's sister Mary-Kris testified that just over a week before Maya disappeared, Maya confided in her siblings that she wanted a divorce. Mary-Kris told 48 Hours in 2021 something that Maya had said to her in passing once. She shared:

"At one point she said, you know, if something happened to me, we'd be married. She just kind of like, brought it out and she was mentioning about, you know, the divorce. I just told her, just be careful. Just be careful because, you know, in the back of my mind and in the back of our minds, that he is capable of hurting my sister."

During this time, Maya had been having an affair with co-worker Jamie Laird. Both Jamie and his ex-wife took the stand and testified that Larry knew about the relationship and was obsessively trying to hold on to his marriage.

Digital evidence exposed in 48 Hours

Larry contacted spellcasters through email with a hope of controlling Maya and allegedly punish Jamie Laird. The last confirmed sighting of Maya is camera footage of her returning home to Chula Vista the afternoon of January 7th. She was never seen leaving.

There was a record of internet searches that evening from her phone, but at 1:25 a.m. cell transmission ended. The court also heard an audio from a neighbor'ssurveillance system where multiple loud bangs were heard on the evening of Maya's disappearance. The next day, Larry's vehicle left the house in the early morning and didn't return for hours.

His phone was switched off. An investigator testified that roughly 444 miles of the vehicle's travel that day couldn't be fully accounted for. Yet during cross-examination, the defense questioned the police work and some of the data.

After the prosecution spent weeks on their case, the defense rested after just calling a few witnesses over the course of a single day. Perhaps they believed there was enough reasonable doubt. The jury disagreed, finding Larry responsible for Maya's death. The accused will be sentenced at a later date and could appeal.

Also read: Full timeline of the Larry Millete trial in 48 Hours.

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