Famalaro Arrives in O.C., Appears in Court : Crime: Suspect being held in County Jail plans not-guilty plea in Huber slaying. Decision on whether to seek death penalty is pending.

One of Orange County’s most notorious murder suspects was transported from Prescott, Ariz., under tight security Thursday and made his first court appearance here on charges that he murdered a young Newport Beach woman and kept her nude body in a freezer.

John J. Famalaro, 37, was shackled during his flight into John Wayne Airport and flanked by three Costa Mesa police detectives as he was whisked to the city jail and later to Municipal Court in Newport Beach. Wearing a green shirt and brown pants, Famalaro made a brief courtroom appearance before his arraignment was postponed until Sept. 26.

The handyman and former Orange County resident is accused of murdering 23-year-old waitress Denise Huber. She vanished June 3, 1991, when her car broke down on the Corona del Mar Freeway less than two miles from home. After her parents launched a nationwide search, Denise Huber became a household name in Orange County and her disappearance a tragic, troublesome mystery.

Orange County Deputy Public Defender Leonard Gumlia said he is worried about his client’s safety and notified officials at the Central Men’s Jail about jailhouse threats against Famalaro. Jail sources also note that in the inmate caste system, reputed attackers of young women rank just above accused child molesters.

“I am very concerned,” said Gumlia, who said his client will plead not guilty to the charges later this month. “You just look at the notoriety of the victim, the enormous amount of publicity surrounding the case, the popularity of the victim in Orange County--you can’t help but be concerned.”

Gumlia said those same factors are behind an anticipated defense motion to have the case tried in another county and worries that the public outcry in the case may encourage prosecutors to seek the death penalty.

“We have fears the publicity may put extra pressure on them,” Gumlia said, adding that prosecutors statewide usually reserve the death penalty for repeat offenders or perpetrators of multiple murders.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher J. Evans said his office will evaluate Famalaro’s case as it would any other murder defendant, allowing only the facts and not public interest to decide whether the death penalty will be sought.

Famalaro is eligible for the death penalty or life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of the charges against him. But a committee of Orange County prosecutors will review Famalaro’s case, along with any input from Gumlia, before a death penalty decision is made.

“It’s premature to say at this point. We take every case seriously,” Evans said. “We have a system for deciding these cases, and this case is working its way through that system.”

Jail officials said late Thursday they were still evaluating their newest inmate and had not decided what security or protective custody he merits, if any. Famalaro was a model inmate in Arizona’s Yavapai County Jail, where he was held in a one-man cell since his July 13 arrest.

Sheriff’s deputies there were investigating a tip when they made a grisly discovery nearly two months ago. Huber, her hands handcuffed behind her back, her eyes and mouth duct-taped shut, was found in a running freezer stowed on the back of a stolen Ryder rental truck parked in Famalaro’s driveway in the Prescott County Club in Dewey, Ariz.

In Famalaro’s home, officials found Huber’s clothing and purse tucked inside a box marked “Christmas.” Other items included Orange County newspapers chronicling Huber’s disappearance, along with a videotaped television show focusing on the missing woman.

Jurisdiction in the case shifted to Orange County when authorities detected Huber’s blood in a Laguna Hills storage facility, where Famalaro was illegally living at the time of Huber’s disappearance. Authorities believe Famalaro lured Huber into his car, possibly under the guise of helping a stranded motorist, and then later bludgeoned her. Tests are pending to determine whether she was sexually assaulted.

Gumlia said a private pathologist hired to examine Huber’s body did not detect any signs of struggle or bruising, aside from the injuries to the head. Gumlia declined to speculate whether that factor could help or hurt his case.

But some defense sources say a lack of bruising--especially around Huber’s wrists--could support a defense theory that Huber was not forcibly kidnaped or was handcuffed after death. Those same sources said any factor that minimizes the trauma suffered by the victim would help the defense in an admittedly difficult case.

Famalaro waived extradition, deciding not to fight warrants signed by Gov. Pete Wilson and Arizona Gov. Fife Symington to bring him back to Orange County to face charges.

A member of the Orange County Sheriff’s Department’s Reserve Forces Aero Squadron volunteered to fly three Costa Mesa detectives to Prescott and back aboard a Cessna 310 aircraft, said sheriff’s spokesman Lt. Dan Martini.

Authorities refused to announce transportation plans for Famalaro in advance, fearing a repeat of an earlier episode in which a sex offender escorted back to Orange County to face murder charges was jeered by an angry crowd that yelled “Kill him.”

Gumlia said jail sources have reported inmates discussing death threats against Famalaro, easily one of the most recognized defendants in Orange County. But Martini said he had not heard of any threats.

“I’m not aware of and the jail staff is not aware of any threats to his safety,” Martini said.

Gumlia said he wanted to postpone the arraignment to give him time to ready nearly 4,000 pages of police reports and other documents in the case.

Famalaro will be evaluated by psychologists and psychiatrists as soon as possible, Gumlia said. He stressed the evaluation is routine and does not indicate an insanity defense will be employed.

A trial in the case is 12 months off, at least, Gumlia said.