Maya Millete’s father shouts at defendant in Chula Vista murder trial

CHULA VISTA, Calif. (CN) — Emotions were high in San Diego Superior Court on Tuesday after the father of Maya Millete stood up from the witness stand and shouted at her husband, who is accused of killing her.

Pablito Tabalanza testified that Larry Millete, his daughter’s husband, had previously told him he wanted to kill somebody while at a family party at his house in Moreno Valley, California. Tabalanza stood up from the witness stand to demonstrate that his son-in-law lifted his shirt to show a gun in his waistband in the days before his daughter went missing.

“He said, ‘Papa, I have a gun. I want to kill someone,’” said Tabalanza, who spoke partially through a courtroom interpreter in Tagalog and in intermittent English.

In a sudden burst of emotion, Tabalanza collapsed into the chair at the witness stand, throwing his head back and putting his hands over his eyes, muttering to himself in both languages. Tabalanza then stood up and accused Larry Millete of murdering his daughter from across the courtroom.

Larry Millete, dressed in a gray sweater with glasses and his hair pulled tightly into a bun, sat quietly with his attorneys as Tabalanza shouted at him.

In a sudden burst of emotion, Tabalanza collapsed into the chair at the witness stand, throwing his head back and his hands over his eyes, muttering to himself in both languages. Larry Millete, dressed in a gray sweater with glasses and his hair pulled tightly into a bun, sat quietly with his attorneys as Tabalanza shouted at him.

Family and friends of Maya “May” Millete also became emotional as Tabalanza sobbed in the witness stand. Defense attorney Liann Sabatini, representing Larry Millete, was also seen visibly upset after the outburst. San Diego Superior Court Judge Enrique Camarena abruptly put the trial into recess as jurors left the courtroom.

“I don’t think it’s any secret that this is highly emotional for many people,” Camarena told the jurors after recess. “He made accusations and statements about what he thinks is your job. You are to ignore those statements made by Mr. Tabalanza. They are not part of the record.”

However, Camarena advised jurors that they could consider the strong emotions that were present in the witness testimony.

“Obviously, the emotion, one way or another, stays in,” he said.

Camarena dismissed jurors for the rest of the day.

Tuesday marks the second day of the long-awaited trial of Larry Millete, who is charged with murdering his wife.

The disappearance of the 39-year-old mother of three drew national attention and widespread media coverage after extensive law enforcement and search and rescue operations failed to locate her. Maya Millete was last seen on Jan. 7, 2021, just two days before a scheduled trip to Big Bear to celebrate the birthday of one of her children.

Her family reported her missing after they were unable to locate her. She has never been found.

Her family has long maintained that Larry Millete is the culprit. The family has been waiting for the trial after numerous delays since it was first scheduled in 2022.

Larry Millete, 44, has maintained that he loves his wife and has previously told the media he believes she may still be alive. He was arrested in October 2021.

It was well known among family and friends of the couple that they were experiencing marital issues and that she had spoken to a divorce attorney in the weeks leading up to her disappearance.

During testimony Tuesday, Tabalanza said he and his wife arrived at the couple’s home in Chula Vista on Jan. 9, 2021, to locate his daughter. He spoke to his daughter a couple times prior and was concerned by the tone of her voice.

Her voice was sad and heavy, he said.

Larry Millete was downstairs with their children. He said Maya was upstairs, but the door was locked. After unlocking the door, they found her credit cards on top of a desk. That day, Larry told his father-in-law that he would take care of him and that he would never do anything to hurt Maya, Tabalanza said. Tabalanza described Larry as putting on an act.

Attorneys also examined witnesses who were familiar with the couple’s marital issues.

Jasmine Lucht, a former co-worker of Maya Millete, testified that Maya had been romantically interested in at least two other men, one of whom may also be called to testify.

Lucht said Maya Millete was always trying to appease Larry and was exhausted by the constant communication with him on her phone. Despite this, she maintained a positive exterior.

“Over time, she is telling me things to indicate that Larry is bothering her and he is not good for her, and she is smiling, told jurors. “I realized she is going to smile through everything. It was just in her nature to smile a lot.”

The trial has also drawn intrigue for some of its more unusual aspects, such as Larry Millete’s purported use of love “spells” to prevent his wife from leaving him.

Additional family members of Maya Millete are expected to testify in the coming days.

The trial is expected to last about three months.