Murder of Girl: Capital Case

Orange County Dist. Atty. Tony Rackauckas said Monday that he will seek the death penalty against the Lake Elsinore man accused of molesting and killing 5-year-old Samantha Runnion of Stanton after grabbing her as she played with a friend near her home.

Rackauckas also said his prosecutors would offer no plea bargain and believe Alejandro Avila could receive a fair trial in Orange County despite the heavy publicity the crime has received.

“This crime has shocked and outraged our community, our nation--even other nations,” Rackauckas declared during a news conference at his office. “If there was ever a case where justice would be served by seeking the death penalty, this is the case.”

Avila, 27, is being held without bail at the Central Men’s Jail in Santa Ana pending his arraignment Friday. He is charged with murder, kidnapping and two counts of forcible lewd acts against a child. Prosecutors can seek the death penalty under special circumstances: The murder occurred after a kidnapping and the crime involved lewd acts with a child.

Avila professed his innocence in an interview with The Times hours before his arrest, saying he was at Ontario Mills mall around the time of the abduction.

Whether Avila can receive a fair trial locally is likely to be a key issue when he returns to court. Denise Gragg, the deputy public defender representing Avila, declined to comment Monday on Rackauckas’ decision or to say whether she favors a change of venue. But two weeks ago, she criticized President Bush for labeling Avila “the killer” of Samantha before the defendant has had his day in court.

The district attorney’s office has traditionally held off much longer before deciding whether to seek the death penalty. Typically, the prosecutors wait at least until after the preliminary hearing, when a judge decides whether there is enough evidence to bring a defendant to trial.

Rackauckas acknowledged that his office has “moved on this case faster than any other” but did not elaborate on why prosecutors are moving so swiftly.

He said the decision was reached after consulting with Runnion’s family and his staff. After weighing many issues, including the seriousness of the crime and all the evidence, members of the D.A.’s death penalty review team agreed unanimously.

“We took into account that Samantha was a stranger to her assailant,” Rackauckas said. “As an innocent child, she was extremely vulnerable.”

Samantha’s mother, Erin Runnion, released a statement Monday saying her family was “grateful” to Rackauckas for discussing the death penalty decision with them. “In our private meeting, he was forthright with the options available and we express our gratitude and trust in his judgment and expertise in prosecuting this case,” the statement said.

Samantha was abducted July 15 while playing near a row of garages about 150 feet from the front step of her Laguna Court condominium. A stranger asking for help finding his lost puppy grabbed her, kicking and screaming, and forced her into his car.

Her nude body was found the next day on the side of a mountain road in Cleveland National Forest, along a route well-traveled by hang gliders. Attention was focused on Avila after several tipsters called a law enforcement hotline pointing investigators in his direction.

Avila was accused--and later acquitted--of molesting a girl who until recently lived in Samantha’s condominium complex. Avila matches a description provided by the girl Samantha was playing with at the time of her abduction, and his car was the green color she remembered.

The affidavits supporting Avila’s arrest and several search warrants filed during the investigation remain sealed under judicial orders. But law enforcement sources have said DNA evidence links Avila to the crime. One source also said cellular phone and credit card records place him in south Orange County in the hours after Samantha’s abduction, near where body was found. Those records, the source said, appear to contradict his alibi about being at the Ontario mall.

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Times staff writer Stuart Pfeifer contributed to this report.