Larry Millete, the Chula Vista man recently convicted of murder in the disappearance of his wife, pleaded guilty Monday to a felony count of possessing an assault weapon and is slated for sentencing on both charges in late September.
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Millete was found guilty by a Chula Vista Superior Court jury earlier this month of killing his wife of 20 years, May “Maya” Millete, who has not been seen or heard from since Jan. 7, 2021.
Jurors were not tasked with deciding the assault weapon count, which pertained to a firearm investigators found during a search of Millete’s home.
With the assault weapon charge resolved during a quick change of plea hearing on Monday, Judge Enrique Camarena set sentencing on both counts for Sept. 29.
Millete faces up to 25 years to life in state prison for the first-degree murder conviction. The assault weapon count carries a maximum penalty of three years, and no agreement has been made regarding what term he will receive for that count.
Though May’s Millete’s body has not been found, police and prosecutors say there is no evidence to suggest she is still alive.
Surveillance footage captured May entering the family’s home around 4:45 p.m. Jan. 7, 2021, but no video footage has captured her leaving.
According to trial testimony, her last known contact with anyone was in a text message with one of her sisters around 8:15 p.m. Jan. 7; her cellphone terminated all cellular connections about 1:25 a.m. Jan. 8.
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Larry — whose phone also terminated cell connections on the morning of Jan. 8 — allegedly left the family’s home in an SUV about 6:45 a.m. and did not return until about 6 that evening. His whereabouts during that time period remain unknown.
During the trial, which spanned nearly two months, Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles told jurors Larry killed his wife in their home, then loaded her body into an SUV and disposed of her on Jan. 8 during those 12 hours.
While Bowles conceded to jurors that she could not specifically say how May Millete died, she argued Larry was the only person with the means and motive to kill her.
The prosecutor argued Larry engaged in possessive and controlling behavior toward his wife, which escalated after she made it clear she wanted to divorce him.
Larry’s defense team argued jurors were being asked to speculate rather than rely on facts in a case that lacked a body, crime scene, murder weapon or eyewitnesses.
Defense attorney Liann Sabatini said in her closing argument that the behavior Bowles characterized as controlling was part of a “tragic investigation” in which Larry was trying to confirm whether May was continuing her affair with a co-worker.
Jurors deliberated for about five hours before returning a guilty verdict for first-degree murder.
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