Famalaro’s Attorneys Cite Pretrial Publicity, Seek Change of Venue

SANTA ANA —  Attorneys for murder defendant John J. Famalaro, accused of killing Newport Beach resident Denise Huber and keeping her body in a freezer for three years, want next month’s murder trial moved to another location because they say public knowledge of the case is unprecedented in Orange County.

The defense claims that 83% of prospective jurors they polled last fall are aware of the case and that 58% of the more than 400 people interviewed already believe Famalaro is guilty and should be sentenced to death, according to court documents.

“The passage of time has not effectively diminished prospective jurors’ memories as to the basics of this case,” wrote Deputy Public Defender Leonard Gumlia.

Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan will begin hearing arguments for the change of venue motion on Feb. 3. Jury selection for the murder trial is scheduled to begin a week later but could be delayed. Approximately 1,000 potential jurors have already been ordered by the judge.

In a lengthy change of venue motion, Gumlia, one of two public defenders representing Famalaro, discusses the impact the disappearance of the 23-year-old Huber had on the county and how her death brought about profound public sympathy for Huber’s family and severe loathing for the man charged with her murder.

“It was not merely witnessed by Orange County, it was shared with its citizens,” Gumlia wrote.

Neither Gumlia or Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher Evans, who is prosecuting the case, would comment on the change of venue issue Tuesday, citing the upcoming hearing. The prosecution’s response to the motion has not yet been filed.

Famalaro, 39, is accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and bludgeoning Huber after her car broke down on the Corona del Mar Freeway in June 1991. Famalaro was arrested in July 1994 after authorities found Huber’s body in a freezer in a stolen rental truck parked in the driveway of Famalaro’s home in Dewey, Ariz.

The former Orange County resident has pleaded not guilty to the crimes, for which the prosecution is seeking the death penalty.

Among the exhibits presented by the defense are more than 200 newspaper articles and several newscasts focusing on the case. They contend that this coverage was largely sympathetic to Huber and her family and depicted Famalaro as an “obsessive loner.”

The defense also contends that pretrial publicity and sympathy toward Huber will make it difficult to defend Famalaro against the special-circumstance allegations of kidnapping and sexual assault because they will have to respond to the prosecutions’ assertions regarding Huber’s character and conduct.

“Our evidence will not be well received by readers who only know Ms. Huber through the newspapers,” the brief states.

Legal experts said Tuesday that the request for a change of venue has strong merit, but they also said the county’s large population decreases the likelihood of the trial being moved.

“Traditionally, Orange County has sought to retain the cases,” said Robert K. Tuller Jr., adjunct professor at Western State University College of Law in Fullerton. “Many times, there are considerations regarding expense and inconvenience to witnesses. It’s all part of the balancing test the judge has to go through.”

Robert A. Pugsley, professor of criminal law with Southwestern University Law School in Los Angeles, said the judge’s decision will depend largely on his evaluation of the validity of the poll conducted by the defense.

“This would be in my opinion a good candidate for a change of venue,” Pugsley said. “You have a culmination of two separate circumstances coming together. One, a long-term period of a missing victim--missing and presumed to have encountered foul play. There are hundreds of articles portraying her in sympathetic light and that she’s missing and the emotional pain being suffered by her family. Then, you have three additional years of stories related to this suspect and the circumstances of her body being discovered in a freezer truck. They carry with them a fairly high emotional charge.”