Jury selection will begin Monday for the murder trial of Larry Millete, who is accused of killing his wife, who disappeared from the couple's Chula Vista home more than five years ago.
Millete, 44, is charged with the murder of the mother of his three children, May "Maya" Millete, who has not been seen or heard from since Jan. 7, 2021.
While May Millete's body has not been located, prosecutors said there is no evidence to suggest she's alive or voluntarily abandoned her family.
They also allege May's desire to leave her marriage prompted Larry Millete to resort to desperate measures to convince May to stay, including by paying "spell casters" to compel her to give up her plans for divorce.
Prosecutors said among the spells Larry sought were ones he believed could make his wife love him, while in other instances, Millete sought to have his wife injured, sick or suffer from nightmares either as a form of punishment or so she would be dependent on him.
But prosecutors said he ceased his requests for any spells to be cast on his wife after she vanished, nor did he take part in the numerous searches for May in the months that followed.
It may take several days for a jury to be seated at the Chula Vista courthouse for a trial that is expected to last around three months. Along with a typical 12-person jury, six alternate jurors are being sought for the trial.
Just before the trial was slated to begin, Millete's defense attorneys, Liann Sabatini and Colby Ryan, unsuccessfully sought to have the lead prosecutor and entire San Diego County District Attorney's Office recused from the case.
Millete's attorneys argued that throughout his preliminary hearing in 2023, the prosecution's witnesses lied about a key factor of the case related to an alleged affair May Millete was having with a married co-worker.
In a defense motion to recuse the DA's Office, the attorneys argued this evidence could have pointed to the co-worker as another potential suspect in May Millete's killing. The motion argued the co-worker may have "also had motive to kill (her)" because she could have exposed his infidelity, compromising his marriage and their jobs with the U.S. Navy.
However, Superior Court Judge Enrique Camarena, who will preside over the trial, ruled that the defense may not argue to jurors that the co- worker had any role in her killing.
Prosecutors said that as their marriage crumbled, Larry began reaching out to several members of May's family and asked them to convince May to change her mind.
Those same family members testified that on prior occasions when May could not be located, Larry tended to panic and, in one instance, planted a cell phone in her vehicle in order to track her whereabouts. They also testified that May complained that Larry had been engaging in controlling behavior, including regularly monitoring her communications and wresting control of her finances.
Police witnesses testified that through surveillance footage they reviewed, there is no evidence of May ever leaving the family home after the afternoon of Jan. 7. Prosecutors said she had plans the following week to take a trip to Big Bear in celebration of her daughter's birthday, as well as a meeting with a divorce attorney, neither of which she appeared for.
Police and prosecutors allege that between 6:45 a.m. and around 6:30 p.m. on Jan. 8, Millete's phone was turned off and surveillance camera footage shows a black Lexus SUV, allegedly driven by Millete, leave his home at about 6:45 a.m. and return to the home at around 6 p.m.
Millete told investigators that he was at Solana Beach all day with his son, according to testimony, though investigators testified that they could not find evidence confirming Millete's whereabouts that day.
Millete was arrested in October of 2021 on suspicion of murdering his wife. He faces up to 25 years to life in state prison if convicted.
