Don Lasseter - Cold Storage

Table of Contents

Epilogue

Judges in California murder trials have the option of rejecting juries recommendations to send convicted killers to death row. If the judge believes the facts of the case warrant a lesser sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole, he or she holds the legal power to order the reduced punishment. A special hearing to announce the sentence is usually held within a few weeks after the verdict.

Judge John Ryan set September 5, 1997, to conduct the sentence hearing for John Famalaro.

The courtroom gallery filled again on that Friday morning with reporters and court watchers. Ione and Jeff Huber sat in the front row, with family and friends occupying the seats close by. Dennis remained in North Dakota to wrap up important business affairs. He had hoped that John Famalaro would make a statement, perhaps expressing remorse for the crime, but was informed that the convicted killer would remain silent.

None of John Famalaros relatives found any reason to attend the hearing.

The convicted killer sat stonily at the defense table, now dressed in orange coveralls instead of the slacks and sweaters hed worn during the trial.

Leonard Gumlia spoke up to voice a complaint about a cartoon that had appeared in editorial section of the Orange County Register . It ridiculed the defense as the jury was deliberating. He included it in a packet of other documents to support a request for a new trial, largely based on previous motions to change venue due to heavy local publicity about the case.

Judge Ryan saw no harm in the cartoon or other news coverage. This court believed after the voir dire that not one of the sitting jurors had any knowledge about this case which would interfere with their ability to render a fair, impartial verdict ... The evidence as to Mr. Famalaros guilt was just overwhelming. Nothing concerning publicity before, during, or after the trial indicates that any juror was improperly influenced.

Other issues raised by the defense, in requesting a new trial, were based on their opinion that no kidnapping or sodomy had been proved. The so-called sperm found in the victims body, they asserted, could not conclusively be identified. judge Ryan unequivocally disagreed. It was sperm. Evidence proved that quite satisfactorily in my opinion. I had no question. That was my view and is my view. I went through all of the evidence ... the handcuffing, the gagging, the blindfolding, the stripthe taking off of Ms. Hubers clothing, and the finding of spermatozoa in the rectum. The reasonable inferences include the fact that this victim fought as hard as she could. The restraints had to be applied while she was still alive. Mr. Famalaro had to have forcible sex in mind. He moved this woman to his warehouse where no one else was around, in the middle of the night. Just no reasonable doubt as to what he bad in mind, what he did and how he did it. That is the sodomy aspect. Those same factors go to the kidnapping.

The evidence proves that this lady would not willingly get into a strangers car when she was so close to help. It is unreasonable to believe as the defense suggests that she had a fear of police because she had been drinking alcohol that evening. Even if ... she got into that car voluntarily, she would not have accompanied Mr. Famalaro to the warehouse; would not. She gave Mr. Famalaro a hard time ... and the evidence later on proved that he could get the handcuffs on quite easily without the other person being aware. In this courts mind, Ms. Huber was forced and restrained long before she got to that warehouse. There is no reasonable doubt as to either special circumstance.

Ryan denied the motion for a new trial.

A short discussion ensued with the lawyers, after which Judge Ryan explained the mitigating and aggravating circumstances he had weighed in reaching a penalty decision. I found there were some mental and emotional scars from Mr. Famalaros mothers behavior during his childhood. Her control over her children was not normal or healthy. Her view on sex, pornography, and politics were just off the board.

On the issue of aggravating circumstances, Ryan commented on the brutality of the crime. Just imagine what was going through Miss Hubers mind during the ride from Costa Mesa to the warehouse, then being stripped of her clothing. She had to be making noise, or Mr. Famalaro thought she was, so she was gagged. A rag was shoved in her mouth and then masking tape placed over that ... You have to think about the mental anguish, the physical discomfort, the things going through her mind ... It is reasonable to assume that the numerous blows to her head were because Mr. Famalaro was enraged ... induced by her resistance.

Victim impact evidence, Ryan said, was quite substantial for both parents. They made extraordinary efforts to locate their daughter. They had difficulty with their work, eating, sleeping, but they always had hope. They went through years of not knowing, years of worry and hope. That is certainly aggravating.

Before pronouncing sentence, and over objections by the defense, Ryan allowed brief statements from Ione Huber, Jeff Huber, and the reading by Nancy Streza of a letter from Dennis Huber.

Jeff spoke in a clear, firm voice, tinged with anger. He noted that he had seen the effect on his parents, aging them twenty or thirty years in the last five or six years. Little Ashley Denise, a week away from her fifth birthday, Jeff said, knew almost nothing about her late aunt. Someday, I am going to have to explain to her what she has to look forward to growing up and having to deal with people like Mr. Famalaro over there. Jeff raised his arm and pointed as if he wished it were a rifle. When she goes out on a date, I am going to be sitting there saying, Oh man, I hope she doesnt get a flat tire. You never know what kind of gutter slime you are going to encounter in this world. The whole experience, Jeff said, had given him a bad taste for my fellow mankind.

Ione Huber stepped to the lectern one last time. Recalling detailed chronology of the excruciating trauma, and the hours after Denise vanished, she said, I cannot adequately describe the pain, agony, and helplessness that I experienced for the next several days, which turned into weeks, then months, and years. She recalled the pleas she had made through the media for information, met only by the killers silence. At times, it was more than I could bear. Not knowing where she was, if she was dead or alive, or if she was being tortured ... was by far the worst thing I have ever experienced.

The move to North Dakota to escape and start a new life, Ione revealed, hadnt worked very well because we have been devastated financially as well.

When the terrible discovery of the frozen body was made, I knew then all hope was gone, and I would have to face the reality that we would never see our beautiful, loving daughter alive again ... She would have been the delight of any parent. She was robbed of her life and future at such a young age ... John Famalaro took all that away. He robbed her of her future husband and children, and future grandchildren for me and my husband. I miss her more than words can describe and my heart aches because of the horror that void has left in my life.

I still have many questions that this man knows the answers to but hasnt revealed to us. I wish he would have gotten on the stand and told us the truth. These unanswered questions continue to haunt us. I have seen no compassion and no remorse from him. And I agree with the jurys recommendation that John Famalaro be given the death penalty. Anybody who can murder a beautiful, young, innocent person and then compound that crime by keeping us suffering through more than three years of total silence doesnt deserve to continue his life.