Hubers Awarded $1 Million From Murder Suspect

The parents of a woman whose nude and bludgeoned body was found in a rental truck freezer won a $1-million judgment in Orange County Superior Court on Tuesday against the man accused of killing her.

Dennis and Ione Huber, formerly of Newport Beach, filed the lawsuit last summer in an effort to hold John J. Famalaro, 38, accountable for the death of their daughter “under every avenue that is available to them,” said their attorney, Jeoffrey Robinson.

Denise Huber disappeared after her car got a flat tire on the Corona del Mar Freeway a short distance from her home on the night of June 3, 1991. The waitress and Broadway sales clerk was 23 years old. Famalaro, a former Orange County painter, is accused of kidnapping, raping and killing Huber and storing her handcuffed body in a freezer outside his Prescott, Ariz., home. The body was found in July 1994.

The next hearing on the criminal case against Famalaro is set for Feb. 2, when lawyers are expected to argue motions. He remains in Orange County Jail.

The Hubers, who now live in North Dakota, are not likely to get any money from Famalaro, who has no apparent resources. But Robinson said the Hubers were fully aware of that when they filed the lawsuit last July.

“Based on what this man has done to their daughter and family, they will not rest until their every legal right is exhausted,” he said. “If they don’t collect a dime, it sends a message to him reminding him of what he has to face.”

The Hubers also want to make sure that if Famalaro “has any inclination to benefit or profit from a book or a movie, that this would either deter him against him, or if in fact he did do it, it would prohibit him from profiting.”

Robinson said Judge Gary P. Ryan on Tuesday also awarded the family $10,000 in damages which, however small, sent a message.

“The punitive verdict today was basically making a statement that the judge found the defendant’s conduct to be despicable,” Robinson said.

Robinson said Famalaro never retained an attorney to represent him in the civil case and never responded to their lawsuit.

“Imagine the frustration for the family,” he said. “It’s been several years since their daughter was taken, and they’ve had very little outlet to somehow, some way, come to terms with this. Part of the healing process is taking steps toward finality.”

Robinson said the Hubers, who were not in court Tuesday, were pleased with the ruling.

“They are satisfied that a court allowed them an opportunity to express their feelings and to [try to] make him respond,” Robinson said. “There are very few things that they can do. It’s a very frustrating feeling to them. They can’t speak with [Famalaro]. [Ione Huber] can’t address the man who took her daughter.

“She wants so badly to tell him what she feels. I suspect that this was one way of doing it.”