Investigator testifies about possible location of Maya Millete's remains

Melissa Mecija
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CHULA VISTA, Calif. (KGTV) — A San Diego County District Attorney's Office investigator believes that Maya Millete could be buried in the area by the Colorado River Reservation, saying the entire area is wide open space.

Investigator James Rhoades said he visited the area between Blythe and Quartsite three times during the investigation, calling it an open desert. “There would have been nobody who would have known I would have been out in that area,” he testified, a statement that Larry Millete's defense attorney objected to.

Week 7 of the Larry Milllete murder trial began Monday with Rhoades once again taking the stand. Larry is accused of killing his wife Maya in 2021. Her body has never been found.

Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles asked Rhoades if he was able to determine the exact spot where Maya’s remains might be near the reservation. Rhoades said no and added, “There were just too many possibilities.”

Rhoades testified that he focused on his search around the Colorado River Reservation between Blythe and Quartsite because of the family’s familiarity with that area and his analysis of mileage.

During his testimony, Rhoades went over vehicle data to try and reconstruct the whereabouts of the family’s Lexus on Jan. 8, 2021, the day after Maya was last seen. Rhoades said the Lexus data doesn’t give the start and end points, but it does give “power on” events for the vehicle.

He testified total unaccounted time for the Lexus on that day was 11 hours and 20 minutes. As he said during the 2023 preliminary hearing, there were 444 unaccounted miles from the vehicle.

When asked by Bowles if Rhoades' drive to the search area by the Colorado River Reservation was consistent with the “power on” times from the Lexus on Jan. 8, 2021, Rhoades said yes.

Rhoades also said the area has a lot of brush and bushes, which would be consistent with the scratches Larry said the Lexus received two days after Maya’s disappearance.

The defense objected to the line of questioning regarding scratches to Rhoades' vehicle during his trip to the search area. Judge Enrique Camarena told the jury to strike it from the record.

Earlier in the trial, a neighbor testified that Larry asked for a quote to detail his Lexus because the car had been scratched during a trip to the desert.