Famalaro Will Not Contest Return to O.C. in Huber Case : Courts: Suspect in Newport woman’s killing waives extradition in Arizona and is turned over to Costa Mesa police. He may be transported here as early as today.

Murder suspect John J. Famalaro waived extradition Wednesday and could be transported to Orange County as early as today to face charges he bludgeoned a Newport Beach woman and kept her nude, handcuffed corpse in a freezer for three years.

Famalaro, 37, answered in a loud, steady voice when Yavapai County Superior Court Judge Raymond W. Weaver Jr. asked whether he was prepared to return to California.

“I am, your honor,” Famalaro replied.

Weaver then ordered Famalaro into the custody of Costa Mesa police and the former house painter, wearing an orange jail uniform, his hands and ankles shackled, shuffled from the courtroom.

Law enforcement officials have remained tight-lipped about Famalaro’s travel plans. Arizona defense attorney Thomas K. Kelly said he believes the process will be kept secret because of safety concerns for Famalaro, one of Orange County’s most notorious murder suspects.

The former Lake Forest resident has pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.

He faces a possible death sentence if convicted of killing Denise Huber, 23, who disappeared in June, 1991. Her body was found July 13 in a freezer stowed inside a stolen rental truck parked in the driveway of Famalaro’s country club home in Dewey, near Prescott.

Court documents made public Wednesday also reveal the lengths Famalaro allegedly went to in order to keep the freezer operating.

When moving the appliance earlier this year from Orange County to Yavapai County, Famalaro stopped several times at various stores to plug in the freezer, according to court records.

An acquaintance of Famalaro’s, Jason Clabaugh, told detectives he helped Famalaro make the move in exchange for $100 and a return flight to California, according to court records.

Clabaugh--who said his mother once dated Famalaro--said Famalaro insisted on plugging the freezer in for at least an hour at a time. Famalaro claimed he did not want meat and groceries to spoil in the freezer, which was duct-taped shut, according to the records.

Authorities found the freezer in the same condition when they discovered it at Famalaro’s home.

Clabaugh also told authorities he also helped Famalaro move the freezer in the summer of 1992 from a storage facility in Laguna Hills to a storage locker in San Clemente, according to the records filed in support of Famalaro’s extradition.

Huber was last seen alive on June 3, 1991, as she was returning home from a rock concert. Her car broke down on the Corona del Mar Freeway less than two miles from her home.

Famalaro, who once was enrolled in the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s training academy for reserve officers, was arrested after law enforcement officers investigating a report of a stolen truck in his driveway found the body.

Jurisdiction later shifted to Orange County when authorities said they discovered traces of Huber’s blood in a Laguna Hills storage facility where Famalaro was living at the time of her disappearance.

Authorities said they believe that Famalaro kidnaped, lured or forced Huber to the facility, and bludgeoned her. Some law enforcement officials speculate Famalaro may have been posing as a police officer, using a homemade uniform found in his home.

Documents filed in support of a search warrant show Famalaro purchased the 23-cubic-foot freezer on June 10, 1991--just days after Huber’s disappearance--and charged the $562.49 total to his American Express charge card. The appliance was delivered to the Laguna Hills storage facility on June 12, 1991.

A delivery receipt was signed “J. Famalaro,” according to the records made public Wednesday.

The blood at the storage facility and the purchase of the freezer have led authorities to believe Huber was murdered shortly after her abduction and kept in the freezer ever since.