April Trial Is Set for Accused Killer of 5-Year-Old O.C. Girl

An Orange County judge on Friday set an April trial date for the man accused of kidnapping and strangling a 5-year-old Stanton girl, rejecting the protests of defense lawyers who say their expert witnesses won’t be ready in time.

Attorneys for Alejandro Avila, 28, requested that hearings be postponed at least until September so they can challenge the admissibility of DNA evidence and prepare for their client’s subsequent trial on charges that he murdered Samantha Runnion in July 2002.

“That is reasonable for what I see we have to do,” Deputy Public Defender Philip L. Zalewski told Superior Court Judge William R. Froeberg.

“I think September is ludicrous and out of the question,” Froeberg replied.

Prosecutors also opposed further delay.

At the request of Avila’s attorneys in December 2002, his trial was postponed until January 2004.

Samantha was abducted days shy of her sixth birthday as she played with a friend outside her family’s condominium.

A stranger approached the two girls, asking if they could help him find a lost puppy, then forced Samantha into his car.

Her body was found the next day in the Cleveland National Forest.

The friend’s description of the abductor helped authorities create a composite drawing that led to Avila’s arrest several days later.