Online ‘spellcaster' testifies during the Larry Millete murder trial

The previous day of testimony in Larry Millete’s murder trial focused on messages prosecutors said he sent to online spellcasters he paid to get his now-missing wife Maya to fall back in love with him, as well as curse the man she was reportedly having an affair with. On Wednesday, one of those so-called spellcasters was called to the witness stand.

Larry Millete is accused of murdering his wife, Maya, in 2021 and then disposing of her body, which has never been found. Larry has repeatedly said he’s innocent.

Frank Peavey said he refers to himself as someone who provides spiritual guidance, which he learned about from his wife, who he said practices Wicca. He testified that he has the ability to help others turn their desires into real-life results through rituals.

“I don’t like the term spellcasting,” Peavey told the court. “I use physical prayer items: gems, herbs, and other items…combine things on an altar…I call it actionable prayer. 90% of people know nothing about this. I know I get eye rolls.”

Though his day job is search engine optimization, Peavey said he uses the online pseudonym of Tess Joy when he conducts his ritual spell services. Many of the messages shown in court could be interpreted to be written in a female voice, with him referring to Larry as ‘my darling’ and ‘my sweet man.’

“First, I listen to them about their situation,” Peavey said. “I make a clear point that I’m not here to pass any judgment. I take it very seriously. I simply want to listen to what they are struggling with. To help them find a place of peace and serenity in their life…One can argue that it has a legitimate effect on their life. But one could argue that it has a placebo effect.”

Peavey testified that his experience communicating with Larry from October through December of 2020 was far different than most of his clients. He told the court that Larry would often bombard him with messages and requests, while expressing desperation and panic about his failing marriage.

“I typically see one or two messages in my inbox,” Peavey said. “But with this individual, I’d check, and there would be 27 messages…He struggled with a desire for immediate gratification. That was a pattern that continued on for months…And I tried to explain that it takes time for the manifestation of energies. That’s not something he was willing to wait for.”

One common spell type that Peavey said he provides is love spells. Messages shown previously in court reveal that Larry asked for Maya to desire him again, and he requested that she be intimate with him more than once per day.

When the spell didn’t apparently work, Peavey wrote back to a seemingly upset Larry, “It’s different for each person and couple. The frequency with which it happens isn’t something I would be able to control. My casting, if you had me do it, would make her, for lack of a more polite word, very ‘horny’ all the time. And I’d work to ensure it was directed at you.”

Peavey said he initially considered Larry sweet and endearing. He said Larry constantly apologized for bothering him about his problems, which he said made him feel for what Larry was going through.

But when the constant communication became too much for Peavey, he said he eventually blocked Larry from contacting him on Fiverr, which was the website he used to make money through his spellcasting services. Peavey also made it clear that he doesn’t practice black magic or voodoo, saying that his spells are built with positive energy to make the world better.

Previous testimony revealed Larry asked for spellcasters to incapacitate or harm Maya in some way so she would become dependent on him. Prosecutors say he directed negative hexes to be placed on the man she was purportedly having an affair with, even wishing ill will upon his unborn child.

During cross-examination from Colby Ryan, one of Larry’s defense attorneys, it became apparent that Ryan was trying to paint Peavey in a negative light. One question alluded to the fact that many so-called spellcasters may only be in it for money, which seemed to upset Peavey.

“My opinion is the vast majority offering these services are doing this completely as a scam,” Peavey testified. “It’s a sad reality that the internet is a place of dishonesty. They simply don’t care. They just want money. You allude to them taking advantage of vulnerable people to take their money in a malicious and dishonest way.”

Ryan then showed more messages between Millete and Peavey, asking him if he recognized how desperate Larry appeared to be, and pointing out that Peavey suggested Larry could purchase more spells. Peavey said that wasn’t his goal, and explained that he was fearful that Larry would leave a bad online review and that he was keeping the conversation open for a specific period of time while Larry had the ability to leave such a review.

Ryan then asked how certain rituals were conducted. That included using the power of a full moon to increase casting power, or waiting until Halloween.

“Like when a full moon comes out and turns a man into a werewolf?” Ryan asked.

 “Not the analogy I would use, but okay,” Peavey said. “It’s when the collective consciences and energy swells.”

During redirection from Deputy District Attorney Christy Bowles, Peavey reiterated that he would never cast spells that would have a negative impact. Bowles brought up several of Larry’s messages where he asked if spells could break bones, make someone sick, or cause cancer.

“Never,” Peavey exclaimed.

More of Maya’s coworkers testify

Two of Maya’s former colleagues from her time working at the U.S. Navy’s Southwest Regional Maintenance Center were called to the stand Wednesday afternoon. Both revealed a similar narrative about how Maya was typically a private person, who decided to share more personal information as problems in her marriage got worse.

Maria Mariscal told the court that she witnessed controlling behaviors from Larry. That included Facetime calls when she was at lunch with Maya, where he would ask her to prove where she was and who she was with.

Mariscal also said that Maya discovered in September of 2020 that Larry had planted their own children’s cell phones in her car in an effort to track her whereabouts.

On cross examination, Ryan asked her if she was aware if Maya was having an affair. Mariscal told him that she was aware of the allegations, but said Maya denied it to her.

Maya’s former co-worker Kristeen Timmers testified next. She revealed that she and several work friends had a private group message thread on Facebook. 

Timmers said they all became aware that Larry found a way to access that thread, and even replied using Maya’s name. 

A message was shown were the FB message said, “Kristeen, this is Larry. I know you’re a great friend to Maya…I know I haven’t been the best husband, but I’m trying. Please help us keep our family together and not apart.”

Timmers said it made them doubt who they were actually speaking to at times.

“We were always wondering if this was something Larry said,” Timmers said. “Like how he spoke.”

In response, Timmers said they began communicating through text messages. Timmers couldn’t hold back tears while reading some of those messages from Maya, which caused a wave of emotion from Maya’s family in court.

That was enough for Judge Enrique Camarena to call for a 15-minute break, which would have commonly happened around that time anyway.

Upon the return from that break, Timmers delved deeper into what Maya shared with her in the latter half of 2020. She revealed that she was on a phone call with Maya, who said she was locked inside a bathroom in her home.

Timmers said Maya told her that she wanted some space to think and be alone, but Larry refused to do that. Timmers said she could hear him and the children, outside the door yelling and banging for her to come out.

“I just remember thinking why can’t they leave you alone?” Timmers said. “Just how much she wanted that little bit of space and it wasn’t being given to her in her home.”

Prosecutors then said Maya texted her friends a photo of a hole in that bathroom door, and said it was caused when Larry forced his way into the bathroom.

Timmers also said Maya revealed more incidents that created fights between herself and Larry, which include his attempts to track her, planting subliminal message devices under her bed, and making financial decisions with family funds.

“She shared that she had no control over her finances,” Timmers testified. “That Larry had invested most of their savings in crypto, in bitcoin. She asked him not to touch specific savings for the kids, but he still did it. So she was very angry about that.”

Timmers also said Maya told her she’d been getting support from a counselor. She said Maya told them, the counselor asked what was holding her back from divorce if factors like finances weren’t involved.

“Maya responded through tears, ‘I’m afraid Larry will hurt the children to hurt me,’” Timmers told the court.

Timmers was also the first witness to say that Maya admitted her affair. Other witnesses, like Maya’s family and friends, said that Maya denied the affair to them.

However, Timmers’ testimony came to an abrupt halt near the end of the day when she said that for the first time, Maya revealed to her that she wasn’t the only one that had an affair. She said Maya told her that Larry also cheated.

That resulted in an objection from the defense and requests for a sidebar. Due to the time, Judge Camarena opted to release the jury and continue the discussion in court. 

In a back and forth argument, defense attorney Liann Sabatini acknowledged that Larry’s affair happened twenty years ago, when he was in the navy. She also said it wasn’t relevant for the type of testimony Timmers was delivering.

Bowles disagreed, saying that it was exactly the kind of frame-of-mind testimony that revealed where Maya’s head was at. That a very private person like Maya was revealing intimate details about her life, which was an indication that she really was ready to end the marriage.

Judge Camarena seemed like he agreed, also pointing out that details about the affair had already been entered into evidence during previous testimony when Larry admitted to it during a text exchange with Maya’s sister in law Genesis Tabalanza. However, the judge asked to see some specific evidence first and then hear final arguments Thursday morning before testimony resumes.