For Hubers, Relief at ‘a Step in Justice,’ Anticipation of Next One

SANTA ANA —  They agonized three years over the fate of their 23-year-old daughter, Denise Huber. They sat through two weeks of trial, day after day watching the man accused of killing their oldest child.

Finally, after not leaving the courthouse during more than five hours of jury deliberations that stretched into the evening Thursday, Dennis and Ione Huber finally found a measure of justice: John J. Famalaro was found guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping and sodomy. The jury will next decide whether he should be executed.

“It’s a step in justice,” Dennis Huber said, his eyes red with tears as he stood next to his wife. “The man who did that is that much closer to meeting his justice--the death penalty.”

The Hubers, surrounded by friends and family, said they have no idea what to expect when the penalty phase of Famalaro’s trial begins next Thursday.

“For what we’ve been through, it’s not going to be any worse,” Dennis Huber said. “It’s got to be a little bit better.”

As they left the courthouse Thursday, looking exhausted and relieved, the Hubers said they planned a nice dinner out.

Famalaro’s 71-year-old mother, Anne, sat through much of the trial but was not present when the verdict was read. Jurors had made the unusual request of working beyond the usual 5 p.m. court closing time. If they hadn’t reached a verdict Thursday, they wouldn’t have met again until after the Memorial Day holiday.

Despite the guilty verdict, the Hubers said they still have many unanswered questions.

How long was Denise alive after she was abducted from the side of the Corona del Mar Freeway, where she had been stranded with a flat tire? How much did she suffer before she was bludgeoned to death in a Laguna Hills warehouse.

“Some of them we may never know,” Dennis Huber said.

“But we know who did it,” Ione Huber added with conviction.

While they received some satisfaction when Famalaro’s attorneys conceded in the later moments of the trial that their client had killed the Newport Beach woman, the Hubers said they were upset the former Lake Forest house painter denied the kidnapping and sexual assault allegations.

They were incensed that defense attorneys suggested that because their daughter had been drinking that night, she may have been reluctant to call authorities or her parents when her car broke down.

“I know what she would do,” Dennis Huber said. “She would call us. She was not afraid of us. She could have called her father.”

Since the grisly discovery in July 1994 of Denise Huber’s body inside a freezer in Famalaro’s driveway in Dewey, Ariz., the Hubers moved from Newport Beach to their native North Dakota. Once a schoolteacher, Ione Huber, 53, now sells real estate. Dennis Huber, 57, works out of their home selling software. Their 26-year-old son, Jeff, still lives in Orange County with his wife and son.

The Hubers have tried to keep a low profile in their new hometown, but have gone public with their grief when it gives them the chance to encourage people to carry cellular telephones. They think their daughter would still be alive had she owned a cell phone that she could have used to call for help, and always advise motorists to stay inside their vehicles after a breakdown.

Healing has come slowly, and Dennis Huber described the years since his daughter’s disappearance as “mostly bad.” The couple said the three years it took for Famalaro’s case to reach trial didn’t help, and they’re bitter that Famalaro never sent them an anonymous letter or made an anonymous call telling them their daughter was dead, even though he knew of their anguish from newspaper articles and a videotaped television show that were found in his home.

Through it all, the Hubers said they haven’t dwelt on what may have caused Famalaro, 39, to kill their daughter.

“I’m going to leave that one alone,” Dennis Huber said.

Added Ione Huber: “I can’t even imagine what could cause anything like that, what he did.”

Times staff writer Greg Hernandez contributed to this report.