Following the preliminary hearing, the judge in the case of missing Chula Vista mom Maya Millete will determine if her husband Larry Millete will stand trial.
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LIVE BLOG: Wednesday, Jan. 18 (Day 5):
NOTE: Judge may order the camera to turn off during certain parts of the hearing (e.g. sidebar). Refresh this story for live updates from the courtroom detailed below.
4:27 p.m.: Court adjourned for the day and will resume Thursday at 9 a.m.
4:23 p.m. Talebanza FaceTimed called Larry and asked where Maya was. He
said she was locked inside the room. He didn't seem surprised or concerned.
4:14 p.m. Bowels asked if Telebanza had talked to Maya on Jan. 8. He said no, and he stated it caused some concern considering what they were going through.
He tried to get a hold of her via Facebook message, but she didn't answer. He tried to call Larry and he didn't respond. He also asked his daughter to call Maya but she didn't get a hold of her either. He asked his brothers to check on her because they were in San Diego. He waited to hear back from anyone.
He got a text from Larry at 6 p.m., who said he had just got home.
4:03 p.m.: Bowels asked if Larry had mentioned any other time about getting rid of the other guy. Talabanza said yes during a trip to Glamis while they were off-roading on the dunes. Larry asked if he knew anyone who could "get that guy" and he would pay $20,000. He was willing. to give him $4,000 to find someone. Talabanza said he didn't want to get involved.
He told Larry to let it go.
4:00 p.m.: Bowels asked if there was another similar occasion in which they discussed the person Larry alleged was having an affair with. Talabanza said on December 25, 2021. Larry said the only way he could get Maya back was to get rid of the other guy.
3:57 p.m.: Bowls asked Talabanza if Larry had said anything about a person he believed she was having an affair with during a phone call in June 2020. Talabanza said Larry had caught Maya with another man, possibly in a car. He said he was disappointed.
3:55 p.m.: Court goes back on the record.
3:47 p.m: A side bar is called.
3:45 p.m.: Bowels asked Tabalanza if he talked to Larry about his marriage with Maya. Tabalanza said yes and that Larry suspected that Maya was having an affair and that he was upset.
Bowels asked Tabalanza what Larry wanted to do about it. Tabalanza said Larry wanted to keep fighting for Maya.
Bowels asked Tabalanza if Larry asked him to talk to his sister. Tabalanza said yes. Larry wanted him to try to convince her to stay in the marriage.
3:43 p.m.: Jaypie Tabalanza, Maya's brother, is called to the stand.
3:23 p.m.: Martinez asked Sopps if there was an investigation involving a woman having an affair or improper relationship in his department in February 2020. Sopps said yes.
Martinez asked if the woman appear to explain the allegations. Sopps said no.
3:18 p.m.: Cross-examination begins.
3:12 p.m.: Bowls asked Sopps about a call he had with Maya on January 6, 2021. Maya told him that she was divorcing Larry and had hired an attorney. He found out and was giving him a heads up that he threatened to ruin her professionally. He didn't know what it meant but feared it would bring back the February 2020 incident.
Bowls asked when he learned Maya was missing and if he sent out an email to her former coworkers. Sopp said he learned about her disappearance on approximately Jan 10 and that he wanted to let those who knew her know that she was missing.
Sopps was asked if he had any communication with her after he learned she was missing. He said he texted her that day to ask if she was okay. He didn't hear back.
3:07 p.m.: Bowles asked Sopps at any point did she confine in him about what was happening he said it was in February. She told him that she and Larry were possibly separating. Maya said he tracked her on her phone and controlled her access to her financial accounts. He also insisted on having the password to all her social media accounts.
2:58 p.m.: Bowels asked if Sopps had received any emails from Larry and what did say. Sopps said yes, he had received an email from Larry a few weeks later asking any to move one of May's other subordinate employees out of her division and into another.
Bowels asked if that was unusual. Sopps said yes. He had never had an employee's significant other reach out for anything.
Bowels asked if there were more emails. Sopps said yes. Bowels asked Sopp to read the email from Feb. 27, 2020, in which Larry asked Sopp to move Eric Coogan to another division to help Maya reset herself and refocus on their relationship.
2:56 p.m.: Bowels asks Sopps if he had met Larry. Sopps said yes in February 2020.
Bowels asks Sopps what the circumstances of that meeting were. Sopps said Larry had come to pick up May (Maya) for lunch. They had had an incident of a woman calling around accusing May of having an affair with a subordinate because of those calls. They had a meeting in his office to clear it up.
Bowels asked if it did. Sopp said yes.
2:53 p.m.: Derick Sopps is called to the stand. Sopps was Maya's supervisor at NASCI Southwest Regional Maintenance Center from 2017 to 2020.
2:49 p.m.: Court resumes. The judge asks Martinez to conclude the cross-examination.
2:33 p.m.: The judge ordered a break due to the witness's emotional state.
2:31p.m.: Martinez asked Talabanza about the holes inside Larry's home and who put them there. Talabanza told her that Larry would punch the wall when he got angry and that they would patch the holes.
2:26 p.m.: Martinez asked Talabanza if she had suggested spellcasting to Larry. Talabanza said absolutely not, that she referred them to their church and pastor for help.
2:22 p.m.: Martinez asked Talabanza if she remembered any event in 2020 in which Maya lied to her; Tabalanza responded yes.
Martinez asked Talabanza if Maya, after moving out of her apartment and back to the Millete residence, admitted to her that she was having an affair with a co-worker, Talabanza said no.
2:15 p.m.: Tabalanza said during a Thanksgiving family trip to Glamis, she did not notice any fighting between Larry and Maya. They acted normal, Tabalanza said.
Martinez then brought up the family’s trip to Glamis on New Year’s Eve 2020, asking Tabalanza what Maya’s demeanor was on that trip.
Tabalanza said she and Maya were in a trailer and they talked about Maya wanting a divorce from Larry.
Tabalanza told the court that Maya planned to file for divorce after her daughter’s birthday party. She added Maya told her to not take Larry’s calls anymore. Tabalanza repeated that Maya told her that if anything were to happen to her, “it would be Larry.”
Tabalanza noted that Jan. 1, 2021, in the trailer in Glamis, was the last time she saw her sister-in-law.
2:11 p.m.: Asked by Martinez if she had concerns over Maya’s safety, Tabalanza said no.
2:03 p.m.: Martinez brought up the June 27, 2020, text message exchange between Larry and Tabalanza in which Larry stated that he saw Maya with a man named Jamie in a truck.
Martinez asked Tabalanza what she remembered about that exchange, and Tabalanza said Larry texted her and asked if he should approach the truck and she told him not to do anything.
Tabalanza then said Larry proceeded to approach anyway and asked the man, “What are you doing with my wife?”
1:56 p.m.: Tabalanza said Maya left her job at SWRMC and moved on to NIWC in hopes of a better opportunity. Tabalanza transferred in Dec. 2020 from SWRMC to NIWC, working in the same building as Maya.
She told Martinez that she did not see Maya while working in the same building.
1:51 p.m.: "Was there a time in 2020 when you were afraid of Ms. Millete?" Martinez asked.
Tabalanza replied, "I don't remember."
1:42 p.m.: Martinez asked Tabalanza what Maya's demeanor was when she lived with them in May-June 2020.
"She's happy when she stayed with us," Tabalanza answered.
Martinez asked Tabalanza if she recalled telling a Chula Vista Police officer that she saw Maya talking on the phone, giggling, and asking her to babysit her children. Tabalanza said she did recall that.
1:35 p.m.: Before the hearing resumes, Judge Dwayne Moring addresses the court regarding sidebars conducted during the preliminary hearing.
After the judge's statement, the hearing resumes with Genesis Tabalanza, Maya Millete's sister-in-law, back on the witness stand. Larry Millete's attorney, Bonita Martinez, is set to continue her cross-examination.
11:59 a.m.: Judge orders a break for lunch. Hearing is set to resume at 1:30 p.m.
11:52 a.m.: Martinez asked Tabalanza if she was aware Maya was allegedly having an affair with someone at her workplace. Tabalanza responded that she only knew after Larry told her in February 2020. Tabalanza said Larry was suspicious that it was true.
Tabalanza said when Maya moved in with her in May 2020, it was for a separation but at that time Maya was not thinking of divorcing Larry at that time.
11:43 a.m.: In February 2020, Tabalanza said Larry called her and told her that Maya was under investigation at work. She told Martinez that she did not know about it until Larry informed her. Tabalanza said she never talked to Maya about the investigation.
Regarding other communication she had with Larry in 2020, Tabalanza told Martinez that Larry brought up the marital issues with Maya. Martinez said she wanted to help.
Martinez asked Tabalanza if she ever told Larry to stop calling or texting her, and she replied no. Tabalanza said she referred him to a church pastor for help.
Tabalanza confirmed that Larry and Maya did go to a church pastor for guidance, but she didn’t know how often they visited with the pastor.
11:30 a.m.: Martinez asked Tabalanza when Maya began complaining about the issues in her marriage, and Tabalanza said it began in January 2020.
Tabalanza told Martinez that the first complaint came from Maya, who asked her for a place to stay and confided in her that she wanted to separate from Larry. According to Tabalanza, Maya felt “exhausted” by her husband and needed space from him to “clear her head.”
Tabalanza said she told Maya that she was welcome to live with her if she needed to.
Tabalanza noted that she was initially shocked when she learned from Maya about her marital issues with Larry.
“I feel like she needed someone to listen to her concerns. So, if she needed a place to stay, then yes, she's more than welcome.”
11:25 a.m.: Tabalanza is asked her thoughts on the Milletes' marriage and she said she felt like it was "perfect" and she thought Larry and Maya were happy.
Martinez asked Tabalanza if she ever noticed any violent activities in the house when she lived with the Milletes in 2016 for several months, and she said she didn't.
"It's just a normal family," Tabalanza told Martinez.
11:20 a.m.: “Since January 7, 2021, have you seen your sister-in-law, your friend? Have you heard from her? Any communication from her since January 7?” asked Bowles.
“No,” Tabalanza responded.
Prosecution ends questioning, and Larry Millete’ attorney Bonita Martinez is set for cross-examination.
11:13 a.m.: Tabalanza was asked by Bowles if she attended searches and vigils for Maya, and she said she did. She told the court that Larry did not.
Bowles asked about an instance in February 2021 when Larry called Tabalanza. During the phone conversation, Tabalanza said that Larry told her that he trusted her and he added,“Just don’t do anything stupid.”
Tabalanza said she didn’t know what Larry meant by that. She said the comment concerned her.
11:08 a.m.: Bowles asked Tabalanza about the planned Jan. 8, 2021, trip to Big Bear. Tabalanza said there were concerns raised that day because Maya did not respond when the family members were discussing the logistics of the trip.
Tabalanza confirmed she went to the Millete residence on the afternoon of Jan. 9, 2021. She said she asked Larry where Maya was, and she told Bowles that Larry said that Maya might have gone hiking. His demeanor was calm, Tabalanza said.
Tabalanza noted that Larry would, in the past, panic if he didn't know where Maya was. But this time, Tabalanza said Larry was calm.
10:59 a.m.: After a recess, Genesis Tabalanza's testimony continues with prosecutor Christy Bowles asking about the family's New Year's Eve/Day trip to Glamis.
There was a moment during the trip in which Tabalanza said Maya told her that Larry wanted affection but she felt that it was hart for her to give that to him.
Later, in a trailer, Tabalanza said she spoke to Maya again about a conversation they had about Maya's marriage to Larry.
According to Tabalanza, Maya told her to stop answering Larry's calls because "anything that you say to him is going to be used against me." Maya went on to say that he was going to file for divorce and added, "If something happens to me, it would be Larry," Tabalanza told the prosecutor.
After her family went home from the trip on Jan. 1, Tabalanza said she never saw or spoke to Maya again.
10:28 a.m.: In a December 18, 2020, text message exchange with Larry, Tabalanza said that he told her that Maya learned that he was using subliminal messages.
Tabalanza said that Larry explained the subliminal messages he used as hidden messages in the form of white noise.
10:24 a.m.: Larry said in a September 23, 2020, text message to Tabalanza that he told Maya he would report her and make her lose her job and gain full custody of the children if she didn’t try to help fix their marriage.
In one message to Tabalanza, Larry wrote, "She needs to be humbled."
10:18 a.m.: In a text message sent to Tabalanza on September 15, 2020, Larry said he would seek the help of spellcasters, saying, “I’m desperate,” as far as fixing his marriage with Maya.
Tabalanza said she knew that Larry and Maya were having marital problems since January 2020. She said she wanted to help, even referring them to a church pastor and a counselor for advice.
"There's going to be bad consequences if you do these things," Tabalanza said she told Larry when he mentioned the spellcasters.
10:05 a.m.: According to Tabalanza, in an August 12, 2020, text message exchange between Maya and Larry ,Larry confirmed that he left their daughter’s cell phone in Maya’s vehicle.
Tabalanza said Maya was upset about what Larry told her and mentioned that she wanted to leave the marriage.
On this same day, Tabalanza said Larry called her husband, Jay-R, asking for help because Maya said she wanted to call police to ask for a restraining order.
Tabalanza and her husband decided to go to the house, and they spoke to Larry – with his father present – in the garage. Tabalanza said she and her husband were telling Larry to “let it go” because it seemed that Maya did not want to stay.
Larry told them that he was willing to change and go to counseling, Tabalanza said.
In the same conversation, Larry also mentioned that he could also "report them" (Maya and the man he believed she was having an affair with), according to Tabalanza.
9:55 a.m.: Tabalanza spoke about an instance on June 27, 2020, where Larry said he followed Maya after she got into a white truck.
According to Tabalanza, Larry told her that he left a phone belonging to his oldest daughter in Maya’s 4Runner.
Larry followed the truck to a parking lot and saw a man with Maya. In a text message exchange, Larry asked Tabalanza what he should do but she said she told him not to do anything.
Larry, however, approached the truck as a man named Jamie and Maya sat inside. Tabalanza said that Larry asked the man, “What are you doing with my wife?”
Maya was surprised and started crying, Tabalanza said.
June 27, 2020, was the day Maya moved back to the Paseo Los Gatos home.
9:46 a.m.: Tabalanza said when Maya lived with her and her husband (Maya's brother) in May 2020, Larry sent dozens of text messages to her, mostly asking what Maya was doing.
During Maya's time living with Tabalanza, Larry would bring the children over, Tabalanza said.
By the end of June 2020, Tabalanza said Maya moved back to the home she shared with Larry.
9:44 a.m.: Tabalanza's testimony resumes after sidebar.
9:30 a.m.: Judge calls for sidebar discussion.
9:15 a.m.: Tabalanza told prosecutor Christy Bowles that during a hike she was on with Maya, Maya told her that she needed space because it gave her a clear head when she was away from Larry.
Tabalanza also mentioned that Maya told her that Larry would punch the wall whenever he got angry. According to Tabalanza, she never saw the marks on the wall, but Maya told her that they would just patch up the marks to cover them.
9:05 a.m.: Testimony from Genesis Nicholas-Tabalanza, Maya Millete's sister-in-law, is expected to continue this morning.
