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Husband charged with murder of missing SoCal mom Maya Millete learns fate after sensational 2-month trial

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A jury unanimously found San Diego-area husband Larry Millete guilty of murdering his missing wife, Maya, on Thursday after a blockbuster two-month trial.

The Navy optician was found guilty of first-degree murder guilty after about five hours of deliberation by the jury, which reviewed evidence that revealed domestic abuse, infidelity and a campaign of fear against the mother of three, who was last seen in January 2021 and has never been found.

As the verdict was read, Maya’s family and friends burst into tears and hugged, according to Fox 5. Larry appeared stunned, turning to his parents with bloodshot eyes and raising his eyebrows, appearing to hold back tears.

The outcome rewards prosecutors who had been following breadcrumbs of circumstantial evidence that they determined pointed to Larry, who police arrested nine months after Maya’s disappearance.

One critical piece of evidence was Maya’s journal. In it, explosive entries spoke of fears that she had regarding her husband.The mother of three accused him of domestic abuse and wrote about standing up for herself.

“He abuses me physically. … I want to be strong, so he never puts his hands on me again,” she wrote in one entry.

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In another passage, she added: “I’m literally afraid of your dad sometimes. He’s capable of hurting me.”

Maya also appeared to accuse Larry of marital rape. “Nothing stops him from forcing himself on me,” she wrote.

In another passage, she added: “I’m literally afraid of your dad sometimes. He’s capable of hurting me.”

As the couple was nearing divorce in the final months of their relationship, Maya penned a message to Larry months before her disappearance.

“Let me find my peace… I cannot find it with you,” she wrote, adding that their relationship was “unhealthy” and “toxic.”

But there were signs Larry was unwilling to accept the reality of a divorce, which Maya sought out in her final months.

“Divorce was not an option” for Larry, San Diego County Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles told jurors back in May.

He allegedly resorted to bizarre methods of potentially hurt his wife through plant poison and spellcraft.

A vial containing liquid from hemlock, a highly poisonous plant capable of killing, was found inside the Millette home. Larry allegedly searched for information about hemlock online and looked up poisons that could kill quickly, suggesting a growing fixation on lethal methods, according to prosecutors.

He also sent hundreds of emails to online “spellcasters” before his wife disappeared, seeking ways to influence or harm her through supernatural means.

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