Peter Van Sant

He is accused of murdering his wife and mother to their three children, Maya Miliete.

Maya was last seen at their Chula Vista home in January of 2021.

Her body has never been found.

This week, big news out of the trial, with claims that Larry made reference to hiring a hitman to kill not his wife, but the man Maya was having an affair with, Jamie Laird.

This was after testimony about Larry emailing spellcasters about Maya and then Jamie.

Now, that's a first for me, mailing people who could cast spells.

In these initial few weeks of trial, we have heard from a wide range of witnesses, from family to law enforcement.

The prosecution has painted a portrait of an unraveling marriage, a controlling husband, a wife desperate to leave, and a trail of digital evidence that they say points to Larry's guilt.

However, the defense claims this is a case of tunnel vision.

They argue that police zeroed in on Larry from the start of their criminal investigation, making key oversights.

They also have questioned why there hasn't been more of a focus on Jamie Laird.

And with me to break down all of this testimony is CBS News legal reporter Katrina Kaufman.

Katrina, welcome.

Now, I just wanted to start off by saying that we did cover the first week of this trial.

So if you want to revisit that coverage, check out our case by case podcast feed and 48 hours YouTube channel.

This case has generated a lot of attention so far without even cameras being allowed in the courtroom.

This is one of those cases, Katrina, where we at 48 Hours often say it's like a screenwriter put this together.

And Katrina, could you give us just a brief recap before we get into what has been unfolding over these past two weeks?

And now, five years later, we are in court.

Prosecution is arguing Larry killed her because of an obsession that grew during this deteriorating relationship.