CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — NOTE: This page will be updated throughout the day.
4:30 p.m. — In the late afternoon, jurors heard from two digital forensic experts, including a digital forensic analyst from the Chula Vista Police Department who downloaded an Apple iPhone connected to the case.
Jurors also heard from Peter Villaver, a crime analysis administrator with the district attorney’s office.
Testifying as an expert in call detail records, Villaver explained how cell phone data collection works and detailed the records he reviewed from the Millete family’s devices.
He walked jurors through activity from Maya Millete’s phone in the month before her disappearance.
2:00 p.m. - Prosecutors called Cameron Laudermilk to the stand. He testified as a digital forensic expert.
Laudermilk currently works for the district attorney’s office but previously worked for the sheriff’s office's CATCH team, a unit dedicated to investigating technology and internet crimes.
Laudermilk testified that he was tasked with reviewing evidence from a MacBook computer download.
According to Laudermilk, the MacBook's username was May Millete. He says that on January 13th 2021, days after Maya disappeared, the MacBook user appeared to go through the email categories on the account, deleting emails, then going to the trash to make sure they were deleted.
The prosecutors never specifically identified who they suspect deleted the emails, but the witness testified that the activity occurred after Larry had turned his phone over to the Chula Vista Police Department.
During cross-examination, the defense pointed out that Laudermilk didn’t actually know why the emails were being deleted, saying the person could have been deleting junk emails.
11:35 a.m. — A neighbor of the Milletes testified that she heard loud bangs when she reviewed her surveillance footage from the night of Jan. 7, 2021.
Heather Toudle said she reviewed the footage after she learned the family was asking neighbors to review video cameras during a specific time frame.
Toudle said the loud bangs “took my breath away.”
She provided the video to the Chula Vista Police Department. Toudle testified she also provided video of what sounded like kids playing in the backyard, which she testified was unusual because it was cold—in the 40s—and it was a school night.
11 a.m. – Lead investigator Jesse Vicente was back on the stand to finish his cross-examination by Larry’s attorneys.
Vicente was a detective with the Chula Vista Police Department in 2021.
During his testimony Tuesday morning, Vicente said that he could not determine the source of the loud bangs heard in one of the surveillance videos from the neighborhood.
Attorney Liann Sabatini also confirmed that Vicente did not have camera footage showing a direct view of the Millete home or the back of the home.
She also pointed to Larry’s cooperation during a search of the home and that he gave consent to search it as well as to take pictures of him on Jan. 11, 2021, a few days after Maya was reported missing.
Sabatini showed jurors more than a dozen pictures officers took of Larry inside the house. Detective Vicente testified that Larry voluntarily allowed them to photograph his entire body, including his hands, torso, and back. He testified that Larry even voluntarily removed his pants to show them his legs, while covering his private area with his shirt.
The defense showed Detective Vicente’s body-worn camera footage of that process, showing Larry voluntarily undressing.
Vicente testified that Larry had no visible injuries, markings, or other signs such as bursitis, cuts, scrapes, blisters, burns, or scratches.
According to the detective, Larry was cooperative, providing passwords to his devices, allowing them to search the cars early on, and did not resist arrest when he was arrested.
He was on the stand for about 45 minutes before being dismissed for the day.
10 a.m. — Court resumed on Tuesday morning for Day 9 of the Larry Millete murder trial, but it started without the jury and instead, intense discussion between the prosecution and defense over what can and can’t be asked in court.
Both sides debated the line of questioning during Monday’s testimony, and at the center of it was the man Maya Millete was accused of having an affair with.
Judge Enrique Camarena previously ruled on third-party culpability, which means that the defense is not allowed to argue another person is responsible for the crime Larry Millete is accused of.
Larry’s attorneys have scrutinized the thoroughness of the investigation after Maya was reported missing. Tuesday morning, defense attorney Colby Ryan argued that they are trying to question the investigation itself and that the “line of questioning isn’t being used to point the finger at someone.”
Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles said that there was “no evidence” to connect Maya’s alleged affair partner to any crime related to this case.
The conversation lasted roughly 40 minutes with all parties visibly frustrated. At one point, Judge Camarena told the attorneys they had already spent plenty of time discussing the matter, including on Monday afternoon, adding that they were going in circles and that he’d been clear about his decision regarding third-party culpability.
The court took a 15-minute break and planned to finally bring in the jury around 10 a.m.
