Death Penalty Upheld in Murder That Haunted O.C.

State Supreme Court justices today upheld the death penalty for a man convicted of the 1991 killing of a 23-year-old Newport Beach
woman and storing her body in a freezer for three years.

John Joseph Famalaro, 54, was convicted May 22, 1997, of first-degree
murder with special circumstances of kidnapping and sodomizing or attempting to sodomize Denise Huber.

Huber was last seen alive early June 3, 1991, after she had gone to a concert with a friend.

Her car, which had a flat tire, was found that night on the shoulder of
the southbound Corona Del Mar Freeway near Newport Beach. Her body was found July 13, 1994, by a deputy sheriff responding to a call about a stolen truck parked in front of a home in Dewey, Ariz., where the defendant lived. The 24-foot truck contained a freezer that was plugged into the house.

Authorities made the grisly discovery of Huber's handcuffed body in a
fetal position wrapped in plastic trash bags. Her head sustained at least 31 blows.

Investigators found two boxes marked "Christmas'' in the defendant's
home that contained Huber's makeup, wallet, clothes and other items. They also found a bloodstained hammer and news clippings about Huber's disappearance.

Famalaro's attorneys argued he was denied a fair trial because the
Superior Court judge refused to move the proceedings out of Orange County. They cited instances of prospective jurors saying he should be "fried,'' and pointed to two prospective jurors who concealed their long-time friendship so they could serve on the panel.

When it was brought to light that they were friends, the jurors were
removed and others were selected to replace them.

The jury was selected from a pool of 1,200 Orange County residents.

"Although local media coverage was heavy during the trial, and a news
report introduced into evidence states that spectators filled the courtroom's seats, the trial appears to have been conducted in a temperate and rational manner,'' the justices wrote in the opinion.

Famalaro's attorneys also argued jury instructions should have been more specific about the degree of murder. The high court justices found there was ample evidence to show he was guilty of premeditated murder.

"We disagree that defendant's concealment of Denise's body and possessions was irrelevant to the first degree murder charge and the special circumstance allegations,'' the justices wrote.

"By hiding Denise's body in his freezer, defendant tried to conceal
evidence that he had sodomized her and that he had bound and gagged her for the purpose of kidnapping,'' the justices continued.

"Hiding Denise's body was also an attempt to conceal the fact that defendant had placed three layers of plastic bags over her head before bludgeoning her to death, a circumstance that supported an inference that defendant premeditated and deliberated before killing Denise. And by putting labels of  'Christmas' on boxes that contained no Christmas items but instead contained Denise's possessions, the bloody surgical gloves, the empty handcuffs box, the spare white plastic bags, the
murder weapons, and the roll of duct tape used to tape Denise's eyes and mouth, defendant attempted to conceal evidence relevant not only to premeditation and deliberation of the killing, but also to the kidnapping special-circumstance allegation, and his sexual intent on the sodomy special-circumstance allegation.''

His attorneys also argued that his sister should have been allowed to
testify during the penalty phase that Famalaro told her he had been molested by his older brother Warren when he was a young boy. But the justices said that would have been hearsay evidence and that Warren testified he did not molest his brother.

Warren was arrested for sexually molesting a 10-year-old girl and a 10-year-old boy and for having sex with a 17-year-old girl on the same day his mother, Ann, had announced a campaign for the Santa Ana City Council. Warren Famalaro was eventually convicted and sent to Patton State Hospital and the news of his arrest ended his mother's political campaign.

Two of Famalaro's girlfriends testified during the penalty phase of the
trial that he had handcuffed them, leaving one naked in a hotel room for hours.

—City News Service