The Larry Millete Verdict | "Case by Case | "48 Hours" Podcast | Forensic Files

January 7th, 2021. That's the last time anyone saw Maya Millettee, a 39-year-old
California mother of three. In October, her husband, Larry Millettee, was arrested and charged with her murder. 5
years later, he went on trial in Chula Vista outside San Diego. And now, after the jury deliberated, we have a verdict.
Millettee has been found guilty of murder. >> 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. I'm CBS News legal analyst and criminal defense attorney Caroline Pissy, and
this is a special episode of Casey by Case. This was a largely circumstantial nobody case, one we covered for weeks on
this podcast with witnesses ranging from Mia'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 question remains. Where is Mia's body? 48 hours
first reported on Mia's disappearance back in 2021 and 2022. Her sister, Mary Chris Dulier, described her lovingly.
She was the gifted one, you know. She she got the she got the brains. Um she's very kind, very caring. She loves her
kids. >> Maya and Larry met and married young and both went on to work for the US Navy.
They waited a few years before having their three kids. When Maya vanished without a trace, Mary Chris couldn't
process it. >> You know, I'm still in denial. like, you know, it's like I I still can't believe it's it's
happening that she's nowhere to be found. Like she's nowhere. Like she just vanished. Like
I was just talking to her, you know, we were just talking to her and all of a sudden she just gone.
>> There were family and community search parties looking everywhere for Maya, but
court testimony revealed there were serious problems inside the Millette home. As we talked about in our previous
episodes of Casey by Casease, testimony showed Mia's growing concern with Larry's efforts to control her. Mary
Chris's initial 911 call played in court referenced fights and violence. And Larry's arrest warrant for Mia's murder
also referenced Maya 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. Mia's sister, Mary Chris, testified that just over a week
before Mia disappeared, Mia confided in her siblings that she wanted a divorce. Mary Chris told 48 hours in 2021
something that Maya had said to her in passing once. >> At one point, she said, you know, if
something happened to me, it would be Larry. She just kind of like blurred it out and
she was mentioning about, you know, the divorce. I just told her, just be careful.
just be careful because you know we in the back of my mind in the back of our minds that he is capable of hurting my
sister. >> During this time Maya had been having an affair with coworker Jaime Leair. Both
Jaime and his ex-wife took the stand and both testified that Larry knew about the
relationship and was obsessively trying to hold on to his marriage. Then there were Larry's emails. He contacted
spellcasters hoping to control Maya and allegedly to punish Jaime Leair. 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 audio from a neighbor's surveillance system where multiple loud bangs were heard on the evening of Mia's
disappearance. The next day, Larry's vehicle left the house in the early morning and didn't return for hours. His
phone was 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. Larry will
be sentenced at a later date and could appeal. This has been a special verdict episode of Casey by Case. We'll be back
next week with a brand new episode. Thanks for listening.

More than five years after Maya Millete was last seen at her Chula Vista home, a jury has found her husband, Larry Millete, guilty of first-degree murder. In this special bonus episode, CBS News legal analyst Caroline Polisi revisits the evidence, the witnesses, and the unanswered questions that defined this no-body murder trial. From allegations of control and marital conflict to digital evidence, missing miles, and the now-infamous spellcaster testimony, we examine the case that captivated Southern California and beyond. And even with a verdict, the central question remains unanswered: Where's Maya?

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Brief Summary

Larry Millettee was found guilty of murdering his wife, Maya, after her 2021 disappearance, but her body remains missing.

Key points

Maya Millettee's Disappearance. Maya Millettee, a mother of three, vanished in January 2021. Her husband was later charged with her murder.
Verdict Delivered. After years of uncertainty, Larry Millettee was found guilty of murder.
Chilling Confession. Maya confided to her sister that if something happened to her, it would be Larry.

Episode highlights

Episode quotes

Where is Mia's body?

A lingering question after the verdict.

1:09WatchJul 10, 2026

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