Maya Millete's boss takes the stand in Day 13 of the Larry Millete murder trial

Melissa Mecija , Laura Acevedo
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CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — NOTE: This page will be updated throughout the day.

3:20 p.m. — District Attorney investigator James Rhoades was back on the stand Tuesday afternoon, continuing his testimony about messages and emails recovered from Larry Millete's phone.

Rhoades also testified about internet activity found on the device on Jan. 9, 2021, while Maya Millete's family was searching for her at the family home on Paseo Los Gatos.

According to Rhoades, records showed Larry Millete was visiting pornography websites that evening.

During his testimony, jurors viewed screenshots, photos, and records tied to spellcasting services, as well as emails in which Larry Millete repeatedly sought help from spellcasters regarding his marriage.

Prosecutors also showed jurors more than a dozen binders containing communications obtained through search warrants.

Rhoades testified that the compiled records totaled 1,744 pages of spell-related requests.

According to Rhoades, the messages to the spellcasters intensified as time passed.

12:30 p.m. — Maya's coworker and close friend Suzanne Shin took the stand late Tuesday morning.

Shin testified that the two became close friends, regularly spending time together with a larger group of coworkers who supported and mentored one another.

While Maya was generally private about personal matters, Shin testified that she eventually confided that she was struggling in her marriage.

Jurors were shown private messages exchanged between the two women in June 2020. In one message, Maya wrote that she was considering reconciling with her husband but remained uncertain about her feelings.

"Like I want to fall in love with him, but it's just not happening," Maya wrote, according to testimony.

Shin also testified about seeing a Facebook post from Maya in August 2020 showing a hole in a wall that was later removed. Concerned by the image, she contacted Maya.

According to Shin, Maya replied that the photo was not supposed to have been posted and explained that the damage happened after someone was accidentally locked out of a room.

Shin testified that the incident prompted her to check on Maya more frequently to ensure she was safe and doing well.

By late 2020, Shin said Maya appeared more confident and increasingly determined to move forward with plans for divorce.

Jurors were shown a December message in which Maya described finding her voice after years of remaining quiet and said she intended to continue standing up for herself.

During cross-examination, defense attorneys emphasized that Maya never admitted to having an affair.

Shin agreed, testifying that while Maya discussed workplace allegations and said her husband's suspicions were affecting her job, Maya had denied that any affair allegations were true.

11 a.m. — One of the top executives at SWRMC also testified. He said in March of 2020, he received a series of emails from an anonymous whistleblower account alleging Maya and a male coworker, Eric Coogan, were involved in fraternization.

John Robinson, the executive director of command, said he responded to the emails and requested additional information.

He says the emails alleged Maya and Coogan took an extended lunch break to get tattoos together

Robinson testified that several emails arrived in rapid succession from the same account.

One email read in court alleged that Maya frequently recommended either Coogan or another employee, Jamey Laird, for off-site training opportunities, which the anonymous sender suggested could be viewed as favoritism. The message also said Maya was having marital issues.

Robinson said SWRMC has official ways of reporting these types of complaints and that the account email he received was not an official way to do so.

10 a.m. – Maya Millete’s boss testified that Maya told him she was going to divorce Larry the day before she disappeared.

According to Derek Sopp, Maya texted him on Jan. 6, 2021, asking if he had time to talk. On the call, Sopp said she sounded shaken and said that Larry “was going to ruin her professionally.” At the time, he said Maya didn’t know what Larry meant by that.

The next day, Maya vanished.

Larry Millete is currently on trial for Maya’s murder. Her body has never been found.

Sopp was Maya’s direct supervisor at the Navy’s Southwest Regional Maintenance Center (SWRMC). He said she was very good at her job.

Sopp said this wasn’t the first time he heard about marital issues between Maya and Larry. Maya had confided in him in late 2019 or early 2020, saying that her husband was very controlling and that he didn’t have access to her own money that she was earning.

In February 2020, Sopp testified that Maya received a voicemail from an unknown woman, saying that Maya was having an affair. That person apparently called several people around the command, according to Sopp.

Sopp says he eventually learned that the woman making the calls and leaving voicemails was the mother-in-law of Jamey Laird, the man Maya was having an affair with.

Sopp had a meeting between Larry, Maya, and Laird, but says Maya and Laird both denied the affair accusations.

During the meeting, Sopp said Laird indicated that he had messed up in his marriage, and it sounded like Laird had an affair with someone else who wasn't Maya. Sopp testified that he encouraged Jamey to talk to his wife.

At one point after that, Larry emailed Sopp several times and requested having a different male co-worker separated from Maya. Sopp said it was not an email he would commonly get from an employee’s spouse.

During cross-examination by the defense, Sopp testified that in November 2021, Laird eventually admitted to having an affair with Maya. He also testified to knowing that Maya got a tattoo with a male coworker on a lunch break, saying he advised her it wasn't against the rules, but proably not a good idea.