Trial in kidnap-slaying of Orange County girl set for 2004

Saturday December 21, 2002

By CHELSEA J. CARTER
Associated Press Writer

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) The man accused of dragging a kicking and screaming child into a car and killing her was scheduled to face trial in a little more than a year.

Over the objections of prosecutors, Orange County Superior Court Judge William R. Froeberg scheduled a Jan. 12, 2004, trial date for Alejandro Avila, ruling that defense attorneys needed ample time to review evidence.

``My primary goal is to try a case one time and one time only,'' the judge said Friday.

The evidence in the high-profile case includes 13,000 pages of discovery, DNA data and the hundreds of tips that were received during the initial search for 5-year-old Samantha Runnion.

The girl was kidnapped July 15 as she played outside her Stanton home. Her body was found the next day along a highway between Orange County and the Riverside County community of Lake Elsinore, where Avila, 27, was living.

Avila is charged with one count of kidnapping, two counts of lewd acts on a child under 14 and one count of murder. He also faces three special circumstances, which make him eligible for the death penalty.

District Attorney Anthony Rackauckas acknowledged that the case could not go forward quickly but argued for a closer trial date.

``Certainly four to six months would be more realistic,'' he said, adding he expected Avila's lawyers to seek further delays.

Defense attorney Denise Gragg said 18 months of preparation for the estimated 40-day trial would not be unusual.

Gragg told the judge the trial preparation would include analysis of DNA and hair samples, as well as revisiting Avila's acquittal in Riverside County on sexual assault charges before the Runnion case.

She also said she might ask that the trial be moved out of Orange County because of media attention.

Froeberg was appointed to the case Monday after the defense made an unspecified claim of bias against the original judge, F.P. Briseno.

Froeberg told Avila he had a possible conflict of interest because he is married to an assistant district attorney in charge of the office's sexual assault unit. The judge asked Avila if he was willing to waive that potential conflict and let him stay on the case.

``Yes,'' Avila replied.

The judge also touched on the issue of whether another death penalty case being handled by Gragg would interfere with Avila's case. That issue was left open.

Samantha's mother, Erin Runnion, attended the hearing. She cried after the judge set the trial date, and did not speak with reporters.

``She was satisfied the judge gave it the proper consideration,'' Rackauckas said. ``She's hoping that will be a firm date.''

A status conference on the case was set for March 21.

(Copyright 2002 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)