May “Maya” Millete – Vanished

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Maya Millete disappeared in early 2021. Her husband is a suspect in her disappearance.

A beautiful mother of three goes missing. Her close family has no idea what happened to her. All they know is that her husband of twenty-plus years is no longer cooperating with the police.  Listen to the story about the disappearance of May “Maya” Millete from Chula Vista, California in January 2020.  helpfindmaya.com

Roman Eugeniusz, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
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Chula Vista, CA Roman Eugeniusz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Location

Chula Vista which means beautiful view, is located in San Diego County, California. Chula Vista is halfway between San Diego and Tijuana. It has views of the San Diego Bay and coastal mountain foothills. Before being founded in 1911, Chula Vista was part of the Mexican Empire up until the Mexican-American War.  Today it is the second-largest city in San Diego County. Famous citizens from Chula Vista include Mario Lopez from Saved By the Bell fame, Rita Hayworth, star of the silver screen during the 1940s, and Matt Cameron a drummer for both Soundgarden and Pearl Jam.

Roman Eugeniusz, CC BY-SA 3.0 , via Wikimedia Commons
Roman Eugeniusz, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

No Idea

On the evening of January 7, 2021, 39-year-old Maya Millete was at home with her three children and her husband, Larry.  The family was getting ready to go on a trip to Big Bear to celebrate one of the children’s birthdays on January 9th. Maya and Larry’s children were ages 4, 9, and 11.

May “Maya” Tabalanza was born in the Philippines on May 1, 1981, and moved to Hawaii at a young age. There she graduated from the University of Hawaii. Maya stood 5 feet 2 inches and weighed 105 pounds with brown hair and brown eyes. While attending Radford High School Maya met Larry Millete in 1999.  Larry had moved to Hawaii from San Diego after getting into some trouble in 1997. He allegedly got caught up in a juvenile gang-related assault when he was 15. Larry appeared to have matured and eventually enlisted in the United States Navy with a five-year commitment. The young couple married in Oahu and moved to San Diego to begin raising their children.

Gone

Please help find Maya Millete

Maya Millete came from a family of six siblings. They were all close and often keep in touch through a group text. Maya’s siblings became concerned when on January 8th she didn’t respond to the group text about an upcoming trip which was unusual for her. Maya is described as an avid cell phone user. Maya’s family continued to reach out to her throughout the day with no success. They even tried to get in touch with her husband and children, but there was no response.

The next day one of Maya’s brothers who lived in the San Diego area went to her house to check on her.  He was able to talk to Larry who told him that Maya was in their bedroom. The door was locked and he claimed that he had last seen Maya around 5 pm the previous night. Her brother knocked but got no response so he assumed that she may have been sleeping.

Try Again

On Saturday there was still no contact from Maya Millete, so her father decided to stop by her house. Once there Larry indicated Maya was still in the bedroom, but he was able to get the door unlocked. Maya was not in the room. Not knowing where she was the family thought she may have left the home on foot perhaps to take a walk. Maya’s car was still in the driveway. However, her cell phone, driver’s license, and credit cards were missing.

Later that night with the family still unable to reach Maya by phone or text her sister, Maricris Drouaillet contacted the Chula Vista police department to report her missing.  At 1 a.m. on January 10th, police officers arrived at the Millete residence along the 2400 block of Paseo Los Gatos.  Police would come to find out the Maya had not been seen for three days.

Search Warrants

On January 13th volunteers gathered to search an area near Maya’s home called Mount San Miguel Park.  In the coming months, volunteers would also search other areas of interest. These included the Glamis Sand Dunes, Lower Otay Lake, National City, and an abandoned golf course in Chula Vista. Searches continued and included areas near the Salton Sea, Fish Creek, and a return trip to the Glamis Sand Dunes.  Each time searchers would walk away with no clue as to Maya’s whereabouts.

On January 23rd,  investigators obtained search warrants for the Millete residence. They were looking for anything that might lead them to Maya Millete or a reason for her disappearance. The next month Larry obtained a lawyer and was no longer cooperating with investigators. However, Larry was not named as a suspect in Maya’s disappearance even though he was the last one to have any contact with her.  Larry also began to distance himself from Maya’s family. According to Maya’s sister, the family could not fathom Larry having anything to do with Maya’s disappearance at the time.

Emotional Plea

On February 5, 2021, Maya’s family and investigators with the Chula Vista police department held a press conference. During the conference, Maya’s family pleaded with the public to keep searching for Maya and to not give up. They asked that if anyone knew anything related to Maya’s disappearance to please come forward.

Police Chief Roxanna Kennedy also spoke at the conference informing the public that investigators continued to work diligently on Maya’s case.  On a more personal note, Chief Kennedy talked about her role as a mother. She knew that Maya’s children were her world and that all of the detectives working on her case were parents. So they were motivated to bring her home to her children.  

Last Days

Maya’s sister, Maricris, and brother-in-law, Richard Drouaillet spoke to local media about Maya Millete and the last time they had seen her. On January 3rd they had gone camping together at the Glamis Dunes Imperial Valley to celebrate the new year. It was during that trip that she noticed Maya and Larry arguing a lot. She told the reporter that Maya and Larry had gone through some marital issues especially in the last year. The couple had been trying to work it out and had even gone to marriage counseling. The family felt that the couple was trying and hoped they would be able to work it out. They didn’t know it was one of the last times they would see Maya.

All Hands on Deck

By April, Chula Vista Police Department had begun working with the FBI and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office on Maya’s disappearance. In a press conference, Chief Kennedy assured the public that Maya’s case was an active one and that they were using “every resource available.”  She also advised the public not to share misinformation on social media regarding Maya’s case. She urged them to contact the Chula Vista Police with any information however slight.

Chief Kennedy gave an investigative update, as much as she could without compromising the case. She stated that as of April over forty-seven interviews had been conducted with Maya’s family, friends, neighbors, and other witnesses. There had been twelve search warrants issues that included Maya’s home, cars, cellphones, and other electronic devices. In addition to financial records, social media accounts, and cloud data. Investigators were also following up on over forty tips from the public.

More Hands

Near the end of April, Chula Vista Police Department announced a formal partnership of the various agencies that were working on Maya’s case.  This included Chula Vista Police, the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, FBI, and now the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS).  Maya Millete worked as an Administrative Specialist at the Naval Institution Warfare Center Pacific. She is said to have excelled at her job and was committed to her career. Her husband, Larry, worked at the Balboa Naval Medical Center in San Diego.

Chula Vista Detective, Lt. Dan Peak reported that investigators were aware of “several bangs recorded on a video security system near the Millete residence during the night of May’s believed disappearance.”  He goes on to say “these bangs are being reviewed and analyzed by investigators in the hope of determining if they were gunshots.”  He also pointed out that the police did not receive any reports of gunshots during the night they believed Maya disappeared.

Bang Bang

Security footage from a neighbor’s residence showed that at approximately 21:57 hours or 9:57 pm nine loud bangs were recorded. No visual was captured. At 10:43 pm security audio picks up the sound of kids playing in the backyard of the Millete residence. The neighbor identified the sounds of kids playing as the Millets as it had been picked up before. At the time the neighbor found it odd that they were outside playing so late. It was a school night and had been very cold over the past few nights.  

Another Update

The Chula Vista Police Department continued to give bi-weekly updates to the public. On June 16th (five months after Maya Millete was last heard from) they informed the public of additional interviews. They now totaled 64.  Forty-four search warrants were served including one on a Millete relative’s home on April 1, 2021, and another on Maya’s home on May 7, 2021. There was also the issuance of a gun violence restraining order issued to Larry on May 5th.

Gun violence restraining order prohibits a person from possessing, owning, or receiving any firearms or ammunition while the order is in effect. To receive this restraining order, the petitioner has to convince a judge that the person to be issued the order poses a significant danger in the near future of either causing personal injury to themselves or another person by having custody, control, owning, purchasing, or receiving a firearm. Once the order is issued the police will seize any guns or the person can take those guns to a licensed gun dealer while the order is in effect.

Missing Weapons

When police served the gun violence restraining order on Larry Millete they found that six registered guns in his name were unaccounted for. In addition, fourteen other illegal firearms were also missing. Some of the missing guns were unregistered assault weapons. What led to police obtaining this order was a photograph found on Larry’s phone taken in January. The photo showed his son standing on a table surrounded by sixteen guns. The guns were laid out on the table along with ammunition and four passports.

Investigators took two guns from the Millete home back in January. Afterward, Larry claims that he had given away his firearms to friends knowing that the police would be back for them. He would not give up the names of those supposed friends. Right after police took the two initial guns Larry purchased two more Glock handguns and thousands of rounds of ammunition. With this order, he is not to have in his possession any weapons registered or unregistered.

Suspect Named

On July 22, 2021, Larry Millete was finally named a person of interest in his wife’s disappearance and possible murder. A hearing took place on the gun violence restraining order that was set to expire. Police continued to investigate sightings of Maya Millete from around the country even though Larry was named a person of interest. None of those sightings were found to be credible.

Custody Fight

In the spring of 2021, Maya’s parents filed a petition with the court over visitation with their grandchildren. Larry had not allowed Maya’s children to have any contact with her family outside of one supervised phone call since Maya went missing. On September 2, 2021, Larry Millete filed a nine-page response to their petition. He included several accusations against Maya’s parents as to why he did not want his children to have visits with them.

He claimed in his response that the children’s grandfather is a heavy smoker and doesn’t have an interest in bonding with his grandchildren. Larry also claimed that his children are uncomfortable around their uncle who is loud and is a heavy drinker. Larry also stated in the response that Maya was going through some depression around the time of her disappearance.

Charged

Finally, on October 19, 2021, at 11:41 am, Larry Millete was taken into custody at his home by US Marshalls and the FBI for the murder of Maya Millete. He faced two charges. Count one is a violation of Penal Code 187 which is murder and the second count is the illegal possession of an assault rifle. He was denied bail.

The district attorney held a press conference after Larry’s arrest. She stated that in a “no body” investigation you have to look for proof of life and in nine months there is no proof Maya Millete is alive. Maya’s bank account had not been touched in over nine months. She had not posted anything on social media.  She also had not reached out to her family which is something she typically did daily. There was simply nothing to indicate she was still alive.

Not Guilty

On October 21, 2021, Larry Millete made his first court appearance and pleaded not guilty. Larry was represented by Bonita Martinez. Larry’s attorney started out asking for the court to talk louder as Larry is hard of hearing in one ear. Larry’s hearing lasted all of ten minutes. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing. The judge read out a protective order for any individual who may give evidence and any protective party which sounded like it included his children as there was a  mention of staying away from a school building.

The motion filed by the district attorney’s office cited their concern for the Millete children in that the three of them were at home at the time that their father murdered their mother. In the days that followed investigators asked Larry if he would bring the children to the nearby children’s hospital to be interviewed by professionals trained to speak to children. He refused. In addition, one .40 caliber firearm has yet to be accounted for.

A bail review hearing was scheduled for November 4, 2021, and he was held without bail. 

Statement of Facts

So the motion filed by the district attorney’s office on October 21st  laid out the facts of the case against Larry Millete. According to the state, in the days leading up to Maya’s disappearance, she was moving forward with her decision to divorce Larry. He was “determined to stop her.”  When his pleas and threats didn’t convince Maya to change her mind it provided the motive for him to “kill her rather than face life without her.”

The motion goes on to give a brief synopsis of Maya’s disappearance. It states that on Saturday, January 9, 2021, at 11:50 pm Maricris Drouaillet, Maya’s sister contacted police to report her sister missing. No one in the family had heard from Maya since the evening of Thursday, January 7, 2021. She also reported that her sister, Maya, and her husband, Larry had been having marital problems and fighting recently.  Maricris appeared reluctant to speak on the phone about the couple’s marital problems as she was at their home when making the call.

Police decided to do a welfare check shortly after midnight on Sunday, January 10, 2021.

All Is Not Well

Police discovered that Maya and Larry had an argument on the evening of January 7th. On the 8th Larry and his 4-year-old son left for the day. Larry told the police that he had heard Maya in the house on the evening of the 8th, but had not seen her since the evening of the 7th. Larry allowed officers to look at his cell phone to review text messages sent between him and his wife. They found that Larry had deleted all of the texts between him and Maya up to January 9th. Larry claimed it was to conserve space on his phone.

All four of the couple’s vehicles, including a Lexus GX460, were at the house when police arrived after Maya’s sister’s call. As the investigation continued into Maya’s disappearance police located surveillance footage from Maya’s neighborhood. They saw Maya park her Jeep Rubicon in front of her house at 4:42 pm on January 7, 2021, and walk inside. There are no other recordings of Maya leaving her home after that date and time.

Ending It

In 2020, Maya Millete started to take steps to end her marriage. She told friends in December 2020 that her marriage was “definitely over.” Maya began looking into divorce attorneys and getting the couple’s finances in order. During this time, Larry seemed to become “increasingly obsessed” with what Maya was doing and who she was talking to. Police interviews with friends and family described Larry as “controlling” or “exhibiting stalker-like behavior.” For example, Larry started showing up unannounced at Maya’s workplace just to see who she was meeting with. These controlling behaviors seemed to escalate through the end of 2020 and into 2021.

One friend reported to investigators that Maya Millete had confided in her that on one occasion Larry had choked her until she passed out. Other witnesses reported that Larry had used one of their children’s cell phones to track Maya’s location. Maya also confided in friends about her fears of Larry hurting the children just to hurt her. Maya was so concerned that she was strategizing how best to serve Larry with divorce papers fearing his reaction. She did not want him to be around the kids and she wanted to have them all somewhere safe.

Desperate

It was during the week of January 4th, 2021, that tensions appeared to be building to a boiling point.  When investigators searched Larry’s communications they revealed a “frantic, desperate, unbalanced mindset coupled with violent and sometimes homicidal ideation.”  According to Maya’s family, the trip to the dunes in Glamis to celebrate the New Year at the start of January 2021 showed them how odd and erratic Larry had been acting.  Larry asked a family member if he knew of someone to “get the other guy.”  He had asked the same question of this family member a month prior and was willing to pay $20,000.  The family member was one of Maya’s brothers. He believed Larry was asking him to find someone to kill the man Maya had allegedly had an affair with.

Internet Searches

Investigators conducted searches of what Larry had been looking up online. These included, “plant you take to never wake up” which he searched for in March 2020. He also searched for “water hemlock” in November 2020. In December 2020 Larry even searched for “my wife doesn’t want me to touch her.” He then searched for central nervous system sedatives and depressants that could render a person unconscious.

Larry Millete tried to cast spells on his wife before her disappearance.

Larry also sent emails to people who claimed they could cast spells. These emails totaled in the hundreds between September 2020 to January 2021. So apparently, the individuals who sell “energy work” claim that for money they will sell a person a spell that can be “cast” that can “make someone fall in love with you.”  Larry had purchased numerous spells. One email in December contained the subject line, “obey me spell to dominate and control and bend her will.”

More Desperation

Larry looked for death spells to use against the man he thought Maya had had an affair with. He also looked for disrupting spells to use against Maya’s friends who he felt were getting in the way of them being together. Larry seemed to blame others for the ending of his marriage. These included not only Maya’s friends but the hiking and Jeep clubs she joined as well.

By the end of December Larry’s request of spell casters was to physically punish Maya so that she was so incapacitated that she cannot leave the house. One email on December 31, 2020, asked a spell caster “can you hex to have her hurt enough that she will have to depend on me and need my help. She’s only nice to me when she needs me or is sick. Thanks again. Maybe an accident or broken bone.” This was when the family had gone to the desert dirt biking and off-roading.

Beginning of the End

Investigators looked at Maya’s communication with family and friends the week of January 4th. What they found is that Maya Millete told a friend over text on January 6th “I told him I’m filing for divorce whether he likes it or not. I’m done trying to make it amicable for the sake of the kids” and she’s “really hoping to get through this weekend first.”  On the Tuesday of her disappearance, Maya had set up an appointment with an attorney for January 12th. She wanted to wait to initiate the divorce until after her daughter’s birthday on the 10th.

Maya’s last communication was on January 7th at 8:15 pm. She shared an ad for a toy hauler with her family on Facebook messenger. Larry’s phone activity for that afternoon and evening included an email to a spell caster at 6:39 pm that states “make her realize that we are meant to be with each other.  Make her miserable without me.  Make her want to sleep on the same bed for all eternity (praying hands emoji).”  His last communication was to his two daughters age 11 and 9 at 8:21 pm of a screenshot of his account balance from one of his cryptocurrency applications.

All Stop

There was no further activity on Maya’s phone as of 1:25 am on January 8, 2021. Larry did send one email to a spell caster at 2:36 am, but then stops asking for any more help to prevent Maya from leaving him.  Larry does continue to request spells from the internet spell caster. But they are all directed towards the man he believed had an affair with Maya. He never asked for any more spells to be directed towards his wife.  

Failed to Show

Investigators find out that Larry did not go to work on January 6th, 7th, or 8th. Larry sent his boss text messages which appeared to be screenshots of text conversations he had with Maya about her seeking a divorce. No one could locate Larry on January 8th. Larry’s boss even texted Maya the morning of the 8th saying he was concerned and that it wasn’t like Larry to miss work. Larry’s father even texted him telling him to turn on his phone as his boss had been calling regarding his job.

Beach Trip

When the investigators asked Larry about his movements on January 8th he claimed that he left that morning at 6:45 am to take his son to Solana Beach and that they spent the entire day there. Security video showed Larry moving his Lexus GX460 that was backed into the driveway onto the street only to reverse it back into the driveway at almost the same spot.  Only this time it was angled towards the garage. Investigators couldn’t tell if anything was loaded into the back because of the angle it was at.  At 6:45 am the car leaves and then returns at 6:06 pm.

Investigators had him point out on a map exactly where he went. Larry pointed to Torry Pines State Beach which is about four miles south of Solana Beach. Larry told the police that he had taken his phone with him that day. But when they checked they found that his phone was off from 6:45 am until 6:34 pm. In checking the Lexus navigation system all it showed was a navigation event for January 8th at 3:29 pm for the home residence. Investigators also looked at the weather that day for Torry Pines and it had a high of 63 degrees and a low of 50 with fog.

Virtual School

So on the 8th Maya’s brother stopped by her house at 6:30 pm to check on her since no one in the family had heard from her all day. He talked with his 9-year-old niece who told him her mom had been up in her bedroom for the past eleven hours and she and her sister had not eaten all day. aya’s brother went to her room and knocked but did not open the door. According to Maya’s brother, Larry initially told him that he had been at work all day and could not account for Maya’s whereabouts. Larry then told him that he had taken the 4-year-old to the beach.  

In the initial stages of the investigation, Larry allowed the investigators to talk to the children. Both the 9-year-old and 11-year-old attended virtual school. They told the investigators that their mom would normally check on them throughout the day while online learning. On that Friday the 8th she did not.  They last saw their mom on Thursday the 7th.

No Proof of Life

In their motion, the District Attorney believes that there is no evidence to suggest that Maya Millete voluntarily disappeared on or about January 7-8, 2021. They point out that Maya has not communicated with anyone via text, social media, or phone call after January 7, 2020. The location data when Maya’s cell phone was turned on indicates that it did not leave her residence. They go on to say that Maya’s financial accounts including credit cards show no purchases or transactions since she was last seen. All of the cars Maya used are accounted for and her passport was expired. In addition, all of her jewelry, purse, and clothing remained at the residence.

There have also been no credible sightings of Maya Millete since she was last seen. Her case has received international media coverage. The District Attorney Office believes that knowing Maya was taking concrete steps to leave her marriage and the abundance of evidence, the only person with the means and motive to hurt or kill then dispose of Maya’s body was her husband, Larry Millete.

No Contact

As of October 27, 2021, Larry Millete was found to have violated a court order that prohibited him from contacting his three children who were in the custody of his parents. The court found that since his arrest Larry had made 129 phone calls to his parent’s home. Some of those calls were to speak just to his children and totaled over nine hours of conversations.  In some of those calls, Larry asked his 11-year-old to read him the news headlines and he told two of his children to watch the R-rated film “Shock Caller.”

“Shock Caller” is a film about a well-off family man jailed for murder who becomes a hardened prisoner.  He wanted his kids to have an understanding of the environment he was currently in. The district attorney informed the court that the Millete children were traumatized. To prevent any additional emotional harm the court needed to prevent Larry from contacting them. The court agreed and Larry can now only have contact with his attorney.

Custody

Maya’s sister, Maricris, did file for temporary custody of her nieces and nephew but was denied. Judge Julia Craig Kelety ruled that the children will remain in the custody of the paternal grandparent for now. However, she did grant visitation rights to Maya’s family which started on November 14, 2021, for three hours. Before that order, Maya’s family only had one supervised call from Larry over the past year.  

Judge Kelety also ordered Larry’s parents to find mental health care for the children.

As of January 19, 2022, Maricris continued to fight for custody of her sister’s children. The judge updated Maya’s family’s visitation rights for more time with them. But the children continue to remain under the care of Larry’s parents. It was reported to the court that all the children are in therapy and are doing well in school. The judge also extended their guardianship until April 25, 2022.

I’m the Problem

In the arrest warrant for Larry Millete, investigators included a portion of an email between Maya and Larry that seemed to show what Maya was experiencing in her marriage. Larry had emailed Maya an article entitled “What men want from their wives.”  Maya responded with:

“How about maybe you focus on also what women want from their husbands? All these things you send me are just about you. This further solidifies the whole idea that you think I’m the problem and that if you could only fix me, everything will be ok.  As long as I go back to the “wife” you liked, the one who didn’t rock the boat, who didn’t assert her feelings, who didn’t care about how much she was hurting so long as there’s peace and harmony then things will be OK. Because really, I’m the problem right?”

Any Information

If you know anything about the disappearance of Maya Millete please contact the Chula Vista police department. They are looking for anyone who may have seen the black GX640 Lexus with the specialty license plate “maylani” on January 8, 2021. Team Maya continues to conduct searches of the surrounding area looking for her. #TeamMaya.

Please help find Maya Millete

If you or someone you know needs help leaving a domestic violence situation please contact the National Domestic Violence Hotline. You can call 1.800.799.SAFE (7233), or text 88788 (START) or go online to use the chat feature at thehotline.org.

National Domestic Violence Hotline

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