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This article was originally published on Feb. 18, 2022. It was updated on July 22, 2023.
Maya Millete, a young wife and mother of three disappeared from her Southern California home in January 2021. From almost the beginning, Maya's family and friends grew suspicious of her husband Larry. Investigators say the couple had been having marital troubles and shortly before Maya's disappearance, Larry had been contacting spellcasters to have a hex put on his wife so that she would stay in the marriage. Where is Maya Millete?
More than a year has gone by since 39-year-old Maya May Millete, mother of three young children, vanished in Chula Vista, California.
Maricris Drouaillet: I still have hope. I still have that hope that we'll find her alive.
Maya's sister, Maricris, and her husband Richard Drouaillet have fought hard so Maya's disappearance doesn't become a cold case.
Richard Drouaillet: It's been a really, really tough year for the whole family … we still don't have answers yet.
Maya was 13 years old when she immigrated to the United States from the Philippines with her parents and five siblings in 1995. Maricris says her sister thrived in Honolulu, Hawaii, where the family settled to build a new life.
Maricris Drouaillet: She's always been, you know, the smart one. And -- she's very active at school. … education -- it's very important to the family. … I've always been so proud of her.
On January 11, 2021, four days after Maya Millete was last heard from, attorney Billy Little – a former criminal defense investigator for the U.S. Navy – decided to step into the missing person's case.
Billy Little: I knew what had to be done, and I did it.
Billy Little: I went straight to where the last place she was seen, which was that house.
Little wanted to talk to Larry Millete. Amongst other things, he had found it odd that Maya's husband wasn't the one who initially called the Chula Vista Police Department.
Billy Little: In fact, when the family wanted to call 911, he discouraged it.
Jonathan Vigliotti: Were there police around also investigating at this point? No?
Claudia Julao: She didn't just walk out. That's something she would never do.
About a month after Maya's disappearance, her husband Larry Millete hired a lawyer and stopped cooperating with investigators.
Claudia Julao: I believe that he did something to her.
Billy Little was told by Maya's friends and family that troubling signs in the marriage began emerging the year before.
Billy Little: And it started back in January of 2020 when they started having marital problems.
Maricris Drouaillet: Larry would call every single one of us … trying to ask for help to intervene, you know, into the marriage.
Maya's family and friends anticipated the news of an arrest for months.
Allison Alexander: I understand that there is a case that needs to be built. There is only one shot. But it just seemed like it was too long.
Yet when Maya's husband Larry Millete was arrested for her murder in October 2021, it was still a mixed range of emotions.
Jonathan Vigliotti: Claudia, what was your reaction?
Claudia Julao: Relieved, yet at the same time, sad … and so although you keep that hope up now it became real.
Richard Drouaillet: I think we had different reactions. I said, "Finally" (emotional). She started crying.
Larry Millete has been behind bars since his arrest in October 2021, awaiting trial. He pleaded not guilty to charges of murder and illegal possession of an assault weapon. If convicted, Larry could face up to 25 years to life in prison.
Billy Little: His ego was so damaged by the fact his wife didn't want to be with him anymore and he couldn't handle it. So, he killed her.
Although there is still hope Maya could be found any day, a victim's body is not required to convict someone of murder.
Billy Little: This is one of the strongest circumstantial cases I've ever seen… you don't have a body. So what? … You don't get to get away with murder because you're good at disposing of bodies.
But Larry maintains Maya left on her own. His defense attorney Bonita Martinez turned down "48 Hours"' request for an interview but spoke with reporters after a hearing where Larry was denied bail.
Jonathan Vigliotti: Larry maintains that Maya voluntarily left him, left the children to start her own new life. Do you believe that?
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