UPDATE: A judge relieved Bonita Martinez as Larry's attorney the day after this article was published. Read about his new defense team here.
The murder trial for Larry Millete, the Chula Vista man accused of killing his wife Maya Millete, will likely be delayed for at least another year. His defense lawyer, Bonita Martinez, tells NBC 7 Investigates she now plans to ask Judge Enrique Camarena Jr. for permission to stop representing him at a court hearing this Tuesday. The decision comes less than four months before Larry's murder trial was scheduled to begin.
Maya vanished more than two years ago, leaving behind her three young children and a husband of more than 20 years. Police arrested Larry nine months after she disappeared and prosecutors charged him with first-degree murder. He pleaded not guilty.
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Sources tell NBC 7 Investigates the public defender’s office has already started working to prepare to take on Larry's case. Ultimately, only the judge can assign him a new attorney and the earliest that could happen is on Tuesday, Oct. 10th at his felony readiness hearing.
When asked why she no longer plans to represent Larry, Martinez blamed it on his finances.
During our exclusive jailhouse interview, Larry told NBC 7 Investigates he already paid Martinez more than $200,000. But weeks after that interview, Martinez told NBC 7 that Larry’s case will average $500,000 – which she says he cannot afford.
Criminal defense attorney David Shapiro is not involved in Larry’s case, but he says if a judge allows Larry to get a public defender, he would likely be assigned a team of highly experienced lawyers.
“These are some of the better or best attorneys that the county sees, both in private and public indigent defense,” said Shapiro. “And they will have the resources, yes albeit from the county, but they will have resources, sometimes arguably private defense attorneys may not have.”
While a team of public defenders would provide Larry with the financial resources to pursue any expert witness, Shapiro says the new defense team would need to start their own investigation from scratch.
“You’re taking the case over as if you got it from day one,” said Shapiro. “And in a way, you’re sort of second-guessing everything that’s been done. What would we have done differently? What could we have done differently? What should have been done differently?”
Which is why, Shapiro said, any change up in the defense almost certainly guarantees the murder trial will not start this January.
“This substitution of attorney, no matter who it is, should and likely will delay this trial for at least a year if not longer,” said Shapiro.
NBC 7 Investigates reached out to the San Diego County Public Defender Office for a comment. A spokesman for the county could not confirm whether or not county employees have begun working on Larry’s case, but provided this statement:
The Public Defender Office has a mission to protect the rights, liberties, and dignity of all persons in San Diego County and maintain the integrity and fairness of the American Justice System by providing the finest legal representation in the cases entrusted to it. The Public Defender Office can handle any case of any size.
Martinez also represented Larry in a custody case over his three kids and in the sale of their home valued at more than $1 million. Even though a judge has approved the home sale, Martinez tells NBC 7 it has yet to hit the market. Technically, even if the judge assigns Larry a new defense team in his murder trial, Martinez could still represent him in those other cases. When asked about those cases over the phone, Martinez only said she cannot work for free.
