Police arrest husband of Chula Vista woman who went missing in January

Nine months after a Chula Vista, Calif., mother disappeared, police on Tuesday announced the arrest of her husband in connection with the case.

Larry Millete was arrested on suspicion of murder in the disappearance of his wife, Maya “May” Millete.

Few other new details were released. Police scheduled a news conference for 3:30 p.m. Tuesday.

May Millete was last seen Jan. 7 in the home in eastern Chula Vista, south of San Diego, that she shared with her husband and their children. Her family has said she stopped responding that day to a family text chain, and a few days later missed a planned family trip to Big Bear to celebrate her eldest daughter’s birthday.

Authorities previously named Larry Millete, 39, as a person of interest in the case.

On Tuesday afternoon, Chula Vista police and other agencies surrounded the couple’s home.

Leticia Krawcion, who lives nearby, was driving home about 12:15 p.m. when she saw several police vehicles, including an armored SWAT vehicle, heading to the home. When officers gathered outside the home, they announced themselves with a loudspeaker and fired flash-bang munitions, she said.

She said she saw officers walk out of the home with a man in handcuffs, though she could not identify him.

“It makes me feel some kind of comfort for their family,” knowing that a suspect was in custody, Krawcion said.

Millete, a contract specialist with the Navy and mother of three children, was 39 when she disappeared. Her family later told the San Diego Union-Tribune that she had been having marital problems with her husband of 21 years. On the day she disappeared, she had gone to a divorce attorney’s office and filled out a client intake form, an attorney working on behalf of her family has said.

In April, police acknowledged that they were trying to determine whether a neighbor’s home security system captured the sound of gunshots the night she disappeared.

According to court records, a detective began looking at Larry Millete’s firearms records in April after officers seized three unregistered assault weapons. One was removed from the Milletes’ home and two were taken from the home of his uncle. In May, he was ordered to surrender at least 20 firearms and a cache of ammunition kept in his home and was told to not purchase any new weapons, court records show.

In an interview with ABC 10News a few days after his wife went missing, Larry Millete said he initially thought she had been picked up at the house by a friend, maybe to go wine tasting or hiking, but he became worried when she missed her daughter’s birthday.

“Trust me, I’ve been emotionally, physically, mentally drained,” he told the news station at the time. “No sleep, I’m not eating. ... The main thing is I can’t really think straight.”

Family members said he told them his wife had locked herself in a room after the couple had an argument. When family members were unable to contact her after a couple of days, they called police. Her car was parked outside the family’s home.