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Jurors in the murder trial of Larry Millete heard dramatic testimony Monday from the lead investigator who helped piece together the disappearance of Maya Millete, the San Diego-area mother who vanished from her home in January 2021.
Jesse Vicente, who spent 18 years with the Chula Vista Police Department before later joining the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office, walked the jury through surveillance footage, cellphone evidence and key moments investigators believe mark significant breaks in the case.
One piece of footage showed a freezer being wheeled out of her Chula visit home and loaded into a vehicle before it departed, Fox 5 San Diego reported.
According to Vicente, Maya was last seen on video on Jan. 7, 2021, the day she disappeared.
Surveillance footage showed her arriving home around 4:44 p.m. and carrying out routine activities around the house.
One clip played in court showed Maya near her vehicle while her young son repeatedly asked, “Mommy, can I come to the car wash? Can I come to the car wash, mommy?”
After reviewing hundreds of hours of surveillance recordings from neighborhood cameras and Ring cams, investigators concluded there was no video showing Maya leaving the family home after she went back inside at approximately 4:45 p.m., Vicente testified.
The detective then detailed a timeline of activity captured throughout the evening.
A tutor arrived at the residence around 5:12 p.m. and left shortly after 6 p.m.
Various movements were recorded near Maya’s Jeep and around the home during the hours that followed.
Later that night, surveillance audio picked up a series of unexplained noises.
At about 8:45 p.m., a loud bang was recorded.
More startling sounds were heard around 9:57 p.m., when multiple loud bangs echoed through the neighborhood, causing dogs to bark.
Vicente testified that investigators could not determine the source of the sounds.
The audio was also analyzed by the FBI, which also could not identify what caused the noises.
The following morning, cameras recorded activity involving the family’s Lexus.
Vicente said footage showed movement around the vehicle before it left the residence at approximately 6:45 a.m. on Jan. 8 and returned later that evening.
Prosecutors highlighted video showing someone making repeated trips between the house and the vehicle during the early-morning hours.
However, under cross-examination, defense attorney Liann Sabatini emphasized that the footage does not reveal exactly what the person was doing.
Vicente acknowledged investigators could not determine whether anything was being loaded into the vehicle, removed from it or simply reorganized.
The surveillance timeline continued into Jan. 9, when Maya’s relatives began arriving at the home after becoming concerned about her whereabouts.
One sequence shown to jurors focused on a white SUV belonging to Larry Millete’s aunt, Katherine Fredericks.
Footage captured a freezer being taken out of the property and loaded into the vehicle before it departed.
The same day, cameras showed Larry repositioning Maya’s Jeep twice within a short period.
Vicente told jurors the behavior stood out to him, saying, “I thought it was odd.”
As concern over Maya’s disappearance grew, family members continued arriving at the residence throughout the evening.
Her sister, Maricris, ultimately contacted authorities to report her missing, prompting patrol officers to arrive shortly after midnight and begin an investigation.
The testimony comes as prosecutors continue presenting evidence they argue points to mounting marital problems before Maya vanished.
Jurors previously learned of a letter Maya allegedly wrote to Larry in August 2020 containing the message, “Let me find my peace…I cannot find it with you.”
Prosecutors have also pointed to evidence that investigators say links Larry to online searches involving hemlock, a highly toxic plant, as well as searches related to poisons capable of killing quickly.
Another unusual element of the case involves alleged communications between Larry and online spellcasters.
According to investigators, he exchanged hundreds of messages seeking supernatural assistance to influence or harm Maya.
In one alleged message, he wrote: “Can you hex to have her hurt enough that she will have to depend on me or need my help?”
He later allegedly added: “She’s only nice to me when she needs me or [is] sick. Thanks again. Maybe [an] accident or broken bone.”
Monday’s proceedings also featured a heated discussion outside the presence of jurors as Sabatini challenged the thoroughness of Vicente’s investigation.
The defense argued that investigators failed to sufficiently examine other leads, though pretrial rulings prevent the defense from presenting a third-party culpability argument to the jury.
The defense noted that the Millete case was Vicente’s first homicide investigation.
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