Murder Suspect Who Fled to Philippines Appears in Court : Justice system: This time, Kelly Russell Daniels is held without bond in 1982 airport slaying of his cousin.

Kelly Russell Daniels made his first court appearance Friday after a decade on the run in Mexico and Southeast Asia, evading charges that he fatally gunned down his cousin in 1982 at John Wayne Airport.

This time around, Daniels, 44, a former Laguna Beach sailmaker, is being held without bail in the Orange County Jail while awaiting trial early next year.

A municipal court judge cited Kelly Russell Daniels’ ties to the community and his appearance at all court hearings when he allowed the defendant to remain free on $75,000 bail pending his 1983 murder trial.

“I don’t expect Mr. Daniels is going to go anywhere,” Judge Robert J. Polis said at the time.

Federal authorities arrested Daniels Tuesday as he stepped off a plane from the Philippines. It was one day shy of a decade since authorities issued an arrest warrant on Nov. 10, 1983, after learning that Daniels had fled to Mexico. As is routine in cases in which defendants are facing substantial prison time, federal authorities do not plan to pursue flight-from-justice charges, officials said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. David Brent says he is awaiting information on how Daniels has spent the past decade. Defense attorney Marshall M. Schulman, who has resumed representation of Daniels, declined to comment.

Daniels has pleaded not guilty to the June 8, 1982, murder of his cousin, Barclay F. Hodges, 40, of Westminster, who was shot in the head after the men spent several hours drinking and talking at a bar at John Wayne Airport. The victim was the brother of then-Westminster Councilman Guinn (Gil) Hodges.

Attorneys said trying an 11-year-old murder case will be a challenge, in part because they must round up witnesses who may have moved, died or have forgotten information needed in the case.

Schulman declined to discuss his defense, but hinted that his client may have fled the area for fear of retaliation after the fatal shooting. Brent expects to argue to a jury that Daniels’ flight points to his guilt.

Evidence gathered during earlier court proceedings indicate that Daniels suspected Hodges was having an affair with his wife and threatened the victim just a few days before the shooting, Brent said.

The prosecutor said many defendants facing murder charges who are released on bail make all their appearances and do not flee the jurisdiction. But Brent said the Daniels case underscores that murder is too serious a crime to take chances.

“People who are charged with murder shouldn’t be out on bail,” he said.