Defense Makes New Bid to Move Famalaro Trial

In a last-ditch effort to have their client’s upcoming murder trial moved outside Orange County, attorneys for John J. Famalaro on Monday asked the 4th District Court of Appeal to overturn a Superior Court judge’s recent decision to hold the trial locally.

The defense contends that extensive pretrial publicity covering the disappearance and slaying of Newport Beach resident Denise Huber, whom Famalaro is charged with murdering, makes it impossible to select an impartial jury for the death penalty case.

Famalaro “will be required to undergo a lengthy trial in a capital case in a county where he cannot receive a fair trial,” Deputy Public Defender Leonard Gumlia wrote in a petition to the appellate court.

If the appellate court decides to consider the matter, it could further delay the start of the high-profile trial, now scheduled to begin jury selection Monday. About 1,000 potential jurors will be called for that process.

“Review is appropriate because any conviction will have to be set aside if [the defense’s] position is correct,” Gumlia wrote. “Review by this court will save both parties and the court valuable time.”

Famalaro, a former resident of Lake Forest, is accused of kidnapping, sexually assaulting and bludgeoning to death the 23-year-old Huber after her car broke down on the Corona del Mar Freeway in June 1991.

Huber had been missing for three years when Famalaro was arrested in July 1994 after authorities discovered her body in a freezer in a stolen rental truck parked in the driveway of Famalaro’s home in Dewey, Ariz., where he had moved.

Gumlia cited the approximately 250 newspaper articles published about Huber’s disappearance and slaying as evidence that knowledge of the case is high in the community and emotions run deep. The attention-grabbing cover page to the petition features a montage of headlines from some of the articles about the case.

Last month, Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan, who will preside over the trial, ruled that Famalaro would be tried in Orange County. In making his decision, the judge cited the size of the potential jury pool and the time that has elapsed since Huber’s disappearance and Famalaro’s arrest.

The defense also is seeking to prevent testimony from Huber’s parents about the impact of their daughter’s death on their lives, should Famalaro be convicted and face a penalty phase of the trial. They contend that the crime was committed in 1991, before “victim impact” testimony was commonly allowed in such trials.

“It is arguably possible for some potential jurors to set aside pretrial knowledge of purely factual matters related to guilt,” Gumlia wrote. “It is far less likely they can rid themselves of the emotional images and pictures in the media of caskets, banners, funeral and memorial services and everything else attendant to victim impact evidence when it comes time for deciding penalty in this case.”

The prosecution, in court papers, maintains that the victim impact testimony should not be prohibited in the trial.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher Evans, who is prosecuting the case, declined to comment on Monday’s developments.