Police arrest husband of Maya Millete, California mom who vanished in January

A guy from Southern California was arrested on suspicion of murdering his wife nine months ago, and her family has asked for assistance in locating her remains. Larry Millete, 40, was arrested at his home in the Chula Vista area of San Diego, officials said at a news conference, a day after San Diego County prosecutors charged him with murder and illegal possession of an assault weapon.

If convicted of killing Maya Millete, he could face a life sentence in prison. Millete's attorney, Bonita Martinez, told CBS station KFMB-TV,  "This is a surprise to me since they have no proof Maya is dead, and I believe she is still alive,"

Summer Stephan, the district attorney, said prosecutors can pursue a murder charge without a body.

"The law is so crystal clear that we cannot let someone murder someone and gain a benefit by hiding the body in a way that we cannot discover it," she explained.

Maya Millete, 40, went missing in early January, according to officials. Authorities say she left her phone and other belongings with the couple's three children.

Larry Millete informed authorities that his wife had left the family freely. However, authorities stated he was a "person of interest" in her disappearance.

Maya Millete was in a "toxic relationship," according to Stephan, and her last known call was to a divorce attorney before she vanished on January 7.

Maya Millette's spouse opposed divorce and recruited "spellcasters" to prevent her from leaving, according to Stephan.

"He was requesting that May become handicapped... so that she might remain at home, so demonstrating his homicidal idealizations to harm May," Stephan explained.

Millete's gun and a black Lexus SUV, which investigators think he used to dispose of his wife's body, were also reported missing.

Authorities and family members have pleaded for the public's help in locating Maya Millete's remains, requesting anyone who may have spotted the missing car around the time she vanished to come forward.

According to Lt. Dan Peak, a spokesman for the Chula Vista Police Department, police have searched the couple's Paseo Los Gatos home multiple times and have executed nearly six dozen other warrants allowing them to seek evidence in various residences and vehicles, as well as from cellular and electronic devices, financial records, social media accounts, and other online data.

According to the station, authorities also served her spouse with a gun-violence restraining order.

"We're still asking the public: Please, help us bring my sister home," a sobbing Maricris Drouaillet said. "We did a promise to her 11-year-old daughter that we will bring her mom home."

According to authorities, the inquiry included the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service, in addition to police and the District Attorney's office.