Posters of May “Maya” Millete displayed at a vigil on the January anniversary of her disappearance. (File photo courtesy of OnScene.TV)
A judge on Thursday denied a request from defense attorneys representing a Chula Vista man who sought to move his murder trial away from the South Bay courthouse.
Larry Millete is accused of killing his wife, May “Maya” Millete, who has been missing for more than four years. She vanished from her home on Jan. 7, 2021.
Attorneys for Millete, who is scheduled to go to trial in January, argued that the media coverage surrounding her disappearance and his case has influenced public perception to such a degree that the defendant cannot receive a fair trial with jurors from Chula Vista and the greater South Bay region.
Millete, 43, faces up to 25 years to life in state prison if convicted of murder, plus a felony count of possessing an assault weapon.
One of Millete’s attorneys, Colby Ryan, said Thursday that the attention and interest in the case was particularly unique.
He noted that in the months following May’s disappearance, large groups of people held gatherings outside the Chula Vista Police Department and Chula Vista courthouse, in addition to outside the Millete family residence when police served search warrants there.
Local interest in the case was also apparent in the “vast community outreach” seen in vigils held for May and numerous searches conducted by her family, Ryan said. Community members joined those efforts too.
Millete’s attorneys argued that the size of the South Bay population is not large enough “to dilute adverse publicity.”
Along with the level of news coverage surrounding the case, the defense has pointed to damning information shared at an October 2021 news conference held by Chula Vista police and the San Diego County District Attorney’s Office shortly after Millete’s arrest.
Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles argued there was no evidence of a connection between the widespread interest in the case and bias against Millete, nor had it been shown that there was a specific bias among members of the South Bay community.
The prosecutor also argued that many of the statements made in the press referenced details that had been outlined in publicly available court documents.
Judge Enrique Camarena denied the change of venue motion, as well as a separate defense request to summon prospective jurors from the entire county of San Diego.
Camarena said he had not seen evidence that South Bay jurors would be more or less biased against Millete than jurors from other regions.
However, he denied the requests without prejudice, meaning the defense can bring the issues up again as the case nears trial.
Millete’s trial is currently scheduled to begin in late January; it is expected to last around three months.