Execution Set for Former La Habra Man : Mississippi Court Upholds Conviction in Murder of Auto Dealer

A former La Habra, Calif., resident lost a bid in the Mississippi Supreme Court on Wednesday to overturn his murder conviction and death sentence in the strangulation of an elderly used-car dealer.

The court set June 12 for the execution of Frank J. Cabello Sr., who was convicted in the death of Vernon Gurley, 72.

In a majority opinion, Chief Justice Neville Patterson rejected several arguments by Cabello that he did not receive a fair trial and that the sentence was disproportionate given the circumstances of the crime.

After a review of the record, Patterson said the court was of the opinion that the death penalty for Cabello “is not wanton, freakish, or disproportionate” to the sentence imposed in other similar cases. He said the court has affirmed 30 death penalty cases since 1978.

Cabello, a divorced father of two teen-age sons, lived in La Habra before his arrest in January, 1983.

Found ‘Hog-Tied’

Court records show that Hoyt Horn found Gurley “hog-tied” in his small trailer office on Dec. 23, 1982. He was bound by rope and taped “solid all over his nose and and all around his mouth and face.”

Investigators, responding to a call from Horn, found Gurley dead and the office safe open. An adding machine was on the floor.

Cabello’s sons, Frank Jr., 16, and Rico, 13, were arrested Dec. 26 in Texas. Cabello was picked up early the next month in Torrance.

At Cabello’s trial, Rico, testifying for the state, said the trio arrived in Corinth, Miss., Dec. 21. He said he and his brother toured several motor vehicle dealerships, including Gurley’s, and reported back to their father.

Rico said Cabello cursed the youngster for telling Gurley they were staying at the Ramada Inn on U.S. 71. He also said his father and brother “started wiping the room down” to remove fingerprints, and later left.

Overheard Conversation

They returned about 30 minutes later in a “rust-colored, reddish” car that Rico said he had seen earlier at Gurley’s. The trio later abandoned the vehicle on a side road.

While traveling on U.S. 72 toward Memphis, Tenn., Rico testified, he overheard a conversation between his father and brother.

“My father asked Frank to give him the money,” and he complied, Rico said.

When asked if he remembered what his brother and father said they had done to Gurley, Rico replied, “They said they hog-tied him and put tape on his mouth and eyes.”

Dist. Atty. John Young, who prosecuted the case, said Cabello traveled through the southeast by stopping at motels, staying a few days, and then skipping the motel bill.