Millete murder trial jurors reveal how they reached guilty verdict in five hours

For the first time since convicting Larry Millete of first-degree murder for the disappearance of his wife Maya Millete, four jurors sat down with NBC 7 Investigates to explain the evidence they say left them convinced of his guilt. That’s despite the fact that prosecutors presented a case built almost entirely on circumstantial evidence.

Following a two-month trial, jurors needed just over five hours of deliberations to reach their conclusion. All four pointed to the sheer volume of testimony and exhibits prosecutors presented.

“I listen to all the evidence,” Juror #1, Emeterio Ramirez, told us. “And you have to weigh everything, and you listen to everything, and then you decide.”

“All the circumstantial evidence, it all paints the picture of why he would do it,” Juror #3, Beverly Feldman, said. “I'm a murder one girl. I mean, all the evidence. And that's what I was asked to do.”

Juror #4, Leticia Gutierrez, agreed, "There was so much evidence. There's just no way that you could say he wasn't guilty.”

“He's rather a disgusting person in my opinion because all he ever wanted to do was hurt her,” Juror #8, Elaine Hussong, said. “I know [Maya] didn't run off. She loved her children way too much to run off and leave them.” 

Asked what ultimately carried the most weight, several jurors pointed to the nearly 12-hour period on Jan. 8, 2021, when prosecutors argued Larry Millete's whereabouts could not be accounted for. 

"The 11 hours and 20 minutes that he was nowhere to be found," Gutierrez said. "I think that was it for me." 

“He said he was at work…And when we found out he wasn't at work, his boss was looking for him,” Feldman said. “They couldn't find him. His family was trying, ‘Larry, turn on your phone. Your boss is trying to get a hold of you,’ I believe the father was saying to his son. So yeah, that was critical.”

Spellcasting evidence shocked jurors

Another major element was Millete's extensive communications with online spellcasters in the months before Maya disappeared. Jurors said the messages became increasingly disturbing as Maya sought a divorce.

Prosecutors said Larry asked for hexes to be cast on Maya that would incapacitate her, making her reliant on him. That included wanting her to get sick, break a bone, or even get cancer.

“I was a good little Catholic girl and I was shocked,” Hussong said. “It was excessive.”

"He believed it could be done," Gutierrez said. "Him planning to keep her and just for him." 

“To me, I guess, he believed in it…the important thing was the communications, the content of the communications,” Ramirez said. “The state of mind, causing harm to her.”

Maya’s affair partner’s lies wasn’t a factor

The jurors also reflected on testimony from Maya's affair partner, Jamey Laird, who acknowledged repeatedly lying about the relationship, even to investigators. While they recognized those lies, several jurors said they did not believe they shifted suspicion away from Millete.

“Yeah, there was a lot of lying both by Mr. Laird and Maya regarding their relationship,” Ramirez said. “But when you look at what they were lying about, they were lying about their affair, their relationship.”

“He lied, but I didn't consider what he was saying. I was considering all the other things other than the affair. There were more things going on.” Hussong said.”If she's disappeared, you're going to lie to the cops because you don't want them to think you're the one who did something.”

During their conversation with NBC 7 Investigates, jurors learned that the judge hadn’t allowed the defense to present Laird as a possible suspect in Maya’s disappearance or even cast doubt about how police detectives investigated his alibi.

“It would have been welcomed. I don't know if it would have made a difference,” Ramirez said.

Asked whether they ever considered another viable suspect, Gutierrez answered simply: "No."

NBC 7 Investigates’ attempts to reach Jamey Laird for comment have been unsuccessful.

Reaching a verdict

Although jurors expressed differing opinions about exactly how Maya was killed, they agreed the evidence supported a finding of premeditated murder. Feldman said the evidence showed Larry Millete had exhausted other attempts to stop his wife from leaving.

“The death was the intent, because she got a hold of the lawyer,” Feldman told us. “She had messaged him that, ‘this is it. It's done.’ He has exhausted his spells. He has pushed everything and I believe he took it now into his hands. ‘You are not going to divorce me.’”

The panel also revealed that deliberations moved quickly. Feldman said 11 jurors agreed on first-degree murder within about four hours, while the fifth hour was spent ensuring one juror was fully satisfied with the legal definition of that conviction before joining the unanimous verdict.

"It wasn't happiness," Ramirez said. “You're dealing with the lives of people. There's children involved. There's a lady that still hasn't been found. And now you have to make a decision and the person who is responsible for this whole scene.”

Jurors said Millete deserves a life sentence

Larry Millete will be back in court in September where the judge will reveal his sentence. He faces a minimum of 25 years in prison, though that could be extended to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Though some jurors were initially hesitant to share their opinion of what his punishment should be, all four eventually said he should spend the rest of his life behind bars.

“I see life and he could get fewer years if he went ahead and told everybody what he did with her because it would be nice if they knew,” Husson said.

“Maybe he can say, ‘I will reveal the truth for a shorter sentence,’” Ramirez said. “And family can rest by knowing what really happened or where the body is.”