Larry Millete wiped tears from his eyes when the judge excused the jury from the room. It comes as Maya’s sister-in-law Genesis Tabalanza continues her testimony. NBC 7’s Alexis Rivas wraps up the latest details from court.
Day 11 of Larry Millete’s murder trial ended with a rare emotional display – tears from the defendant.
Larry is accused of murdering his wife, Maya, and hiding her body. He’s pleaded not guilty, and her body has never been found.
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The emotion happened during testimony from Maya Millete’s sister-in-law Genesis Tabalanza, who was on the witness stand for the entire day. Her testimony focused heavily on her text-message communications with Larry from 2020, just months before Maya vanished.
In addition to being married to Maya’s brother Jay-R, Tabalanza had a long friendship with Maya. They worked together for years, managing contracts for the federal government.
Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles walked Tabalanza through dozens of messages where Larry appeared desperate and expressed anxiety to save his marriage. That included demanding to know where Maya was almost every day and whether she was wearing her wedding ring.
Those texts revealed that in August 2020, Maya discovered Larry had planted their daughter’s cell phone in her vehicle, specifically for the purposes of tracking where she was.
There was also a period of time in May and June of that year when Maya had moved out of the Millete home in Chula Vista and into the Tabalanzas’ apartment, but that ended after Larry apparently caught Maya with the man she was reportedly having an affair with, Jamey Laird.
The text-message exchange was shown to jurors, which included photos Larry took of Laird’s white truck, where the pair had secretly met in the parking lot where they worked.
“Larry texted me, and he said, ‘Oh, I followed [Maya],’ ” Genesis testified. “He said, ‘I saw them in the truck. I think I’m going to go talk to them.’ I told him, ‘No, don’t talk to them. Don’t make a scene.’ ”
But Larry apparently did confront them. Later that day, Tabalanza said she helped Maya pack up her things from the apartment, and she moved back into the family home.
“That was a very bad day,” Tabalanza testified. “She was crying. She was sad. She was looking down at the floor. Her eyes were swollen. He’s very calm. Just calm. And then he said thank you to us, and he left.”
Tabalanza also testified that Larry shared details about his desire to hire a spellcaster and even learn to cast his own spells. She said she told him not to get involved with that stuff and to pray to God.
This was one text message exchange shown in court from September 2020:
Larry: It’s real. We are all God’s creation. Even spellcasters
Larry: Just trying to justify it
Larry: I’m Really Desperate
Larry: For real though, no lie. I’ve been thinking about apprenticing under a spellcaster if I can find a good one
Larry: Only the white magic
Larry: No black magic or voodoo
Genesis: What do you mean? Like become a spellcaster?
Larry: I just want to know and be good at a couple of spells that I can maybe perform on my end
Larry: Just a thought though
Larry: It would require dedication
Tabalanza also said Larry sent her a picture that appeared to show some sort of spell ritual. It showed a photo of Larry and Maya, ringed with candles against a red background. Other apparent spellcasting items were strewn over the photo.
Tabalanza said Larry also told her that Maya was upset with him after she discovered he had planted a device in the house to broadcast subliminal messages. Tabalanza said she didn’t know what those were or how they worked.
Prosecutors then asked Tabalanza about the family’s trip to Glamis sand dunes, near the Arizona border, to ring in the new year. She testified that Maya told several family members that she would file for divorce after they celebrated her daughter’s birthday in early January.
Tabalanza also said she was there when Maya told her something that other family members testified to hearing.
“She said, ‘If something happens to me, it’s going to be Larry,’ ” Tabalanza told the court.
Tabalanza held back tears when she then revealed that it was the last time she saw Maya in person.
The cross-examination that followed took a much different tone, as Colby Ryan, one of Larry’s defense attorneys, asked Tabalanza to remember specific things she told Chula Vista police detective Jesse Vicente.
During that part of the testimony, it was almost combative, which caused members of the jury and public to laugh at her responses.
When Tabalanza said she wasn’t able to remember exact phrasing, Ryan repeatedly asked her to watch recordings of a police interview from June 2021, which included her being asked if she remembered Maya telling her that she no longer wanted to sleep next to Larry.
“Did watching that video refresh your recollection of what you said to Detective Vicente: that [Maya] didn’t want to sleep next to him?” Ryan asked.
“Yeah, from the video,” Tabalanza said. “It’s a good thing we have the video.”
And then Ryan asked her the exact timeline of Maya’s work history.
“I don’t keep track of that!” Tabalanza exclaimed. “Do you have a video about that, too? Well, let’s just watch the whole entire video, ’cause I don’t recall!”
That elicited more laughter from the court and even a smile from Judge Enrique Camarena. It happened again when Tabalanza was asked if she remembered how often Maya mentioned Jamey Laird’s name.
“I don’t remember,” Tabalanza said. “Why did I not get this video before coming here!”
Next, slowly and methodically, Ryan walked Tabalanza through at least 40 pages of text messages between her and Larry. The bulk were after Maya moved into Tabalanza’s apartment in May of 2020.
Many messages were Larry sharing that he was desperate, anxious and depressed that Maya wanted to leave him. He expressed being willing to do anything to keep her in his life. That included being willing to buy her anything she wanted, becoming submissive to her and even allowing her to have a boyfriend on the side. His messages stated that he would rather share her than lose her.
The rhythm of the testimony was repetitive, with Ryan reading the messages and Tablanza reading along while being asked if that was what Larry wrote. Again and again, Tabalanza testified, “Yes, that was from our conversation,” or, “Yes, that’s what it says here.”
Other messages appeared to give insight into Larry’s mental state during the time Maya was staying at the Tabalanzas home, saying that he had never felt so vulnerable and low, that his heart was palpitating and his stomach was in knots, or that he was dying inside.
When time ran out for the day, everyone in the courtroom rose as the jury exited. When Larry turned, it was clearly visible that he’d been crying. He wiped tears from his eyes several times.
That was the most emotion Larry has ever shown at any of his court hearings. Typically, his face is expressionless, often covered with a medical mask.
During a jailhouse interview with NBC 7 Investigates, Larry was asked why he often remains stoic during proceedings.
“That’s just how I was trained,” Millete told NBC 7 in 2023. “Now, you know, in the service, we have this um, thing called the DRB, Disciplinary Review Board. And, basically, you’re taught to stand there at attention. With a thousand-yard stare, just stand still during professional proceedings…. It’s difficult to keep your composure [and] professionalism, especially under these circumstances, but, um, there were times actually, you know, I shed some tears, but I moved away…. I also didn’t want, you know, my children to be embarrassed or humiliated with a video of their father being weak.”
Tabalanza will continue her testimony when the trial resumes on Monday.
Before Thursday’s testimony began, the court again held an on-the-record session outside the presence of the jury. The defense successfully argued to limit certain questions that would be asked to a specific witness, and then the defense wanted to put something else on the record.
“We also became aware that the mayor of Chula Vista was here … wearing his city lapel pin with the city seal,” Sabatini said. “He sat with family and later gave an interview to the news media, saying his appearance here won’t interfere with the trial.”
On Wednesday, NBC 7 interviewed Mayor John McCann about being present in the courtroom on Monday. He expressed that it wasn’t political and he was here to show support for his community. NBC 7 asked McCann whether his presence might influence the jury.
“I don’t think I was sending a message at all,” McCann said. “I think the jurors are going to make sure that they understand that they need to be fair, look at the evidence, and I’m not there to influence them in any way. I am there to support the family because their family member vanished and potentially is dead.”
Sabatini told the court that the defense wasn’t taking any official position on McCann, but just wanted it to be on the record about the mayor showing his support during election season.
Camarena took no action in regard to that and said that it’s understood that his courtroom is open to the public.
On Wednesday, NBC 7 asked both the prosecution and defense about McCann’s presence, but both sides declined to comment.