Maya Millete’s sister says it’ll be difficult to look at her husband at murder trial & shares theory that he ‘snapped’

MAYA Millete's family is dreading the thought of having to look her accused-killer husband in the eye during his forthcoming murder trial, having once loved him like one of their own, her sister says.

Larry Millete appeared in a Chula Vista, California court on Tuesday for a readiness hearing ahead of his trial for the first-degree murder of his missing wife, Maya, who was last seen alive on January 7, 2021.

While no traces of the mother-of-three have ever been found, prosecutors believe Larry murdered Maya in a rage after learning of her plans to divorce him.

Larry's trial had been slated to finally begin on August 26, following numerous delays and setbacks.

However, on Tuesday a judge granted the defense's request to further delay the start of the trial until at least January 6, 2025.

Larry has continued to deny any wrongdoing in connection to Maya's disappearance and suspected death.

Speaking to The U.S. Sun, Maya's sister, Maricris Drouaillet, said the wait for Larry's trial has been excruciating for her and the rest of her family for one of several reasons.

While they are determined to get justice for Maya, Maricris said she knows the trial's outcome will be "sad either way."

"He was our family for 20 years and we loved him, we grew up together," said Maricris of Larry in an interview in late January.

"And he didn't do anything before this where he worried us or gave us any reason to think he would hurt my sister.

"He wasn't a hateful person, and he wasn't the type where you'd suspect something of him – he was always such a nice guy.

"So it’s very hard and heartbreaking to see him on the other side and defending himself for what happened to my sister," added Maricris.

"No matter the outcome of the trial it’s still going to be very sad for us because we have our nieces and a nephew who are going to be affected too.

"So no matter the outcome it’s going to be devastating for us. It'll be like losing a family member all over again."

Maya was last seen alive on Jan. 7, 2021, when she was spotted on a neighbor's surveillance camera arriving home from work.

No footage exists of Maya ever leaving the home again and it was her husband of more than 20 years, Larry, who was the last person to see her alive.

Police would later discover that Maya was planning to divorce Larry and had spoken with an attorney to start the process of separating from him earlier that day.

The couple had been having marital issues for some months and Maya was engaged in an affair with one of her coworkers.

It was Maricris who reported Maya missing to the police on January 9 after the 39-year-old failed to return any calls or texts for 48 hours.

When Maya failed to show up for her daughter's birthday party the following day, Maricris was overcome with a grave feeling something terrible had happened to her beloved sibling.

'HE SNAPPED'

Nine months would pass without answers before Larry was arrested on October 19, 2021, and charged with her murder.

Investigators accused him of killing Maya in a blind rage and disposing of her body in an unknown location early the following morning.

Prosecutors would reveal in a subsequent hearing that Larry had begun purchasing voodoo spells online in the months preceding her disappearance in a desperate effort to stop her from leaving him.

One such request to a spellcaster in September 2020 read, "Please help me. I want her to fall madly in love with me again.”

But as their relationship grew more fractured, Larry's spell requests grew more sinister, court documents state.

"How much would it cost for a spell to get my wife to change her mind from divorcing me?” Larry wrote to one spellcaster the night before Maya vanished.

The following morning, Larry wrote to another spellcaster, saying, "The divorce is going to happen whether I want it or not.”

In a different message, he wished for a spell to harm Maya.

"Please punish May and incapacitate her enough so she can't leave the house. It's time to take the gloves off," he wrote.

Maricris said Larry's spell requests left her and her family stunned.

There was a time when she and the rest of her family could never even conceive the possibility of Larry hurting Maya, Maricris said.

But now she shares the prosecution's theory that he allegedly "snapped" and killed her.

Maricris said, "I think what happened is, he learned about the divorce, they had an argument that night [...] and I think he snapped and probably choked her, and then panicked – that's my theory.

"But it's very hard not knowing what actually happened to her. We still have so many questions and we haven't had any answers yet, so it's just been a nightmare.

"It feels like our lives are at a standstill and we're waiting for answers so we can finally get to the end of the tunnel, and try and move on as best we can from all this."

Despite their agonizing wait for Larry's trial, Maricris confessed that no amount of time could pass that would make her feel ready to face reopening the wounds of losing Maya.

"I don’t think anyone going to any trial for a situation like ours is ever ready for that trial," she added.

"To me, I know personally I’m suppressing it, all of the emotions and how it’s going to feel when I’m in there.

"That’s how I’ve been dealing with the situation every day; I’ll deal with it and face it when it’s time.

"I don’t look at how it’s going to be tomorrow, because I know it’s going to be different.

"The day we found out my sister was missing, every day since has been a nightmare and I’m not quite ready to go back there yet."

WHERE IS MAYA?

All cellphone and credit card activity ceased for Maya after Jan. 7, 2021.

Investigators believe Maya was murdered inside the home she shared with Larry and her remains disposed of the following day.

If he goes to jail, I don’t even care. We just want answers.

Surveillance footage captured on Jan. 7 showed the Millete children playing outside in their backyard at around 10 pm.

Chula Vista Police Detective Jesse Vicente previously testified that it seemed unusual for the children to be out at that time because it was late and cold.

Then at 5:59 am the following morning, Larry was seen walking out of the home and backing up his car into the garage.

At 6:46 am he was seen leaving the home with one of his youngest children. He switched off his cell phone and didn't return home until 6 pm that night.

According to Vicente, Larry would later tell police he'd backed up his car to load ice chests into it that he had packed for him and his son to go to the beach.

Larry confessed he fought with Maya on Jan. 7, and after she went missing he told police his wife was going crazy and that he had been trying to take care of her, the cop added.

Larry denied any involvement in his wife's disappearance, telling detectives he believed she'd simply run off and abandoned her family.

His theory never sat right with Maricris, who insists her sister would've never left her children of her own volition.

She said she had wanted to separate from Larry before but decided to stay with him because of the children.

Maricris has not given up hope of finding Maya.

She and members of the Find Maya Facebook page still hold virtual prayers for her return and conduct frequent searches in the hope the truth will soon prevail.

Maricris said she doesn't care what happens to Larry, or whether or not he is convicted of Maya's murder – she just wants to know where her sister is.

"All we want is to bring my sister home," she said.

"Justice will prevail, and whatever he did to my sister he'll be judged for in the afterlife. As long as we can bring my sister back, that's all that matters.

"Find out where she is will lift the burden of the cross we've been carrying and finally help us find some peace in our family.

"I’m hoping this trial will bring that [...] if he did it, we're hoping and praying he will let us know what happened and stop our suffering.

"If he goes to jail, I don’t even care. We just want answers."

Maya and Larry’s three children have been under the care of Larry’s parents since his arrest.

A custody trial is pending to determine whether they will stay with their grandparents or move in with Maricris, who is fighting for custody.