Eilsel
07-19-2002, 3:59pm
Police Arrest Calif. Man in Murdered Girl Case
Fri Jul 19, 2:06 PM ET
By Dan Whitcomb
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Southern California man, who lives near the forest road where the slain body of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion was found, was arrested on Friday in connection with her abduction and murder, police said.
The man, identified as 27-year-old Alejandro Avila, was arrested shortly before 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) on Friday. Police did not detail the charges that would be filed against him.
Avila lives in an apartment complex about 10 miles from the grim scene where Samantha's nude, bruised body was found on a quiet two-lane road running through the Cleveland National Forest in Orange County, about 60 miles south east of Los Angeles.
Samantha's body was found about 24 hours after she was kidnapped kicking and screaming from her driveway by a man driving a light green car who lured her by claiming to have lost his puppy.
Local television stations reported that Avila's name was given to police by a former girlfriend who had accused him of molesting her daughter. He apparently never faced charges in that case.
The suspect's mother, Adelina Avila, told reporters he was innocent and did not have a criminal record.
DIED FROM SUFFOCATION
Police descended on the Lake Elsinore, California apartment complex where Avila lived late on Thursday, armed with search warrants, and carted away boxes of material including bed sheets, clothing, and shoes, along with three cars.
The hunt for Samantha's killer, described by police and FBI ( news - web sites) as a violent sexual predator who would strike again soon, put parents in Southern California on edge during the massive manhunt.
Nervous parents kept their children indoors as more than 400 police officers scoured the state and 100 FBI agents sifted through forensic evidence.
The curly-haired, gap-toothed Samantha, from the quiet suburb of Stanton in Orange County, about 30 miles south east of Los Angeles and 40 miles from where her bruised and battered body was found, had died from suffocation after spending several hours with her killer, who had also sexually assaulted her, police said.
Samantha's kidnapping from the driveway of her home as she played the board game Clue with her friend Sara touched a nerve across the United States, where the abductions of two other girls -- 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart in Utah and 7-year-old Danielle van Dam in San Diego -- have gripped the nation.
Van Dam's badly decomposed body was found about three weeks after her abduction and her neighbor, 50-year-old David Westerfield, is on trial for her kidnapping and murder.
Smart, an accomplished harp player who was taken from her Salt Lake City home at gunpoint, is still missing.
Source (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=578&e=1&cid=578&u=/nm/20020719/ts_nm/crime_samantha_dc_20)
Fri Jul 19, 2:06 PM ET
By Dan Whitcomb
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A Southern California man, who lives near the forest road where the slain body of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion was found, was arrested on Friday in connection with her abduction and murder, police said.
The man, identified as 27-year-old Alejandro Avila, was arrested shortly before 10 a.m. PDT (1 p.m. EDT) on Friday. Police did not detail the charges that would be filed against him.
Avila lives in an apartment complex about 10 miles from the grim scene where Samantha's nude, bruised body was found on a quiet two-lane road running through the Cleveland National Forest in Orange County, about 60 miles south east of Los Angeles.
Samantha's body was found about 24 hours after she was kidnapped kicking and screaming from her driveway by a man driving a light green car who lured her by claiming to have lost his puppy.
Local television stations reported that Avila's name was given to police by a former girlfriend who had accused him of molesting her daughter. He apparently never faced charges in that case.
The suspect's mother, Adelina Avila, told reporters he was innocent and did not have a criminal record.
DIED FROM SUFFOCATION
Police descended on the Lake Elsinore, California apartment complex where Avila lived late on Thursday, armed with search warrants, and carted away boxes of material including bed sheets, clothing, and shoes, along with three cars.
The hunt for Samantha's killer, described by police and FBI ( news - web sites) as a violent sexual predator who would strike again soon, put parents in Southern California on edge during the massive manhunt.
Nervous parents kept their children indoors as more than 400 police officers scoured the state and 100 FBI agents sifted through forensic evidence.
The curly-haired, gap-toothed Samantha, from the quiet suburb of Stanton in Orange County, about 30 miles south east of Los Angeles and 40 miles from where her bruised and battered body was found, had died from suffocation after spending several hours with her killer, who had also sexually assaulted her, police said.
Samantha's kidnapping from the driveway of her home as she played the board game Clue with her friend Sara touched a nerve across the United States, where the abductions of two other girls -- 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart in Utah and 7-year-old Danielle van Dam in San Diego -- have gripped the nation.
Van Dam's badly decomposed body was found about three weeks after her abduction and her neighbor, 50-year-old David Westerfield, is on trial for her kidnapping and murder.
Smart, an accomplished harp player who was taken from her Salt Lake City home at gunpoint, is still missing.
Source (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&ncid=578&e=1&cid=578&u=/nm/20020719/ts_nm/crime_samantha_dc_20)