Case by Case | Courtroom Gets Emotional During Larry Millete Murder Trial

In a trial that reads like a screenplay, Larry Miliete stands accused of murdering his wife, Maya Miliete, a 39-year-old Navy employee who vanished in January 2021 with no body ever found. The prosecution paints a picture of a controlling husband whose obsession with maintaining the marriage escalated into a desperate, even criminal, attempt to eliminate the man Maya was having an affair with—Jamie Laird. Key evidence includes Larry’s emails to spellcasters, digital tracking of Maya’s movements, and a chilling admission from her brother JP that Larry offered $24,000 to hire someone to kill Laird. Forensic findings, like blood-like residue in Larry’s car and surveillance footage showing Maya entering the home but never leaving, are central to the case. Yet the defense argues the prosecution’s case is built on tunnel vision, pointing to gaps in surveillance, the lack of a body, and the possibility that Maya left voluntarily. Emotional testimony from Maya’s family—especially her sister Jane’s tearful recounting of a final photo of a family road trip trailer—humanizes her and underscores the tragedy. The trial remains a high-stakes no-body case, where circumstantial evidence, digital trails, and psychological profiles may be enough to convict, but only if the jury believes beyond a reasonable doubt that Maya is dead and Larry is responsible.