Criminal
Jul. 24, 2002
DA Ponders Death Penalty for Accused Killer
SANTA ANA - Senior members of the Orange County district attorney's office will decide within two weeks whether to seek the death penalty against the accused kidnapper and killer of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas said Monday.
Alejandro Avila, arrested five days after Runnion's nude body was found 10 miles from his Lake Elsinore apartment, was charged with murder, kidnapping and two counts of child molestation.
The 27-year-old defendant also faces three special circumstances allegations that could subject him to execution
"It's my decision to seek the death penalty, and I'll make that decision," Rackauckas said at a news conference Monday after Avila's first court appearance. "Anyone who commits an act like this in Orange County will either die in prison of natural causes or will be executed."
Two of the special circumstances deal with an intent to kill while the defendant is engaged in a lewd act with a child. The third is of murder during a kidnapping.
Avila appeared Monday by video from the Orange County jail. Standing behind a small podium with Orange County Deputy Public Defender Lorene Mies, Avila agreed to continue his arraignment until Aug. 9. He did not enter a plea.
Deputy District Attorney Matt Murphy will be prosecuting the case.
Rackauckas said the evidence against Avila is "very, very compelling" and investigators are satisfied they have the right person. He refused to speculate about a possible defense strategy; defense attorneys could not be reached for comment.
Avila was acquitted in December 2000 of molesting his then-girlfriend's daughter and her cousin, both 9. One of the girls lived in the same condominium project as the Runnion family until six months ago and had played with Samantha Runnion, according to news reports.
During the molestation trial, defense attorney John Pozza of Pozza & Hunt in Temecula, argued that Avila had kissed and tickled the two girls, but it was nonsexual, the news reports said. A jury returned a not guilty verdict.
Neither Pozza nor Riverside Deputy District Attorney Paul Dickerson, who prosecuted the earlier molestation case, could be reached for comment.
But Rackauckas said Riverside prosecutors had done a "good job" in a "difficult case with uncorroborated evidence."
Jenna Bordelon
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