Alejandro Avila is a convicted murderer who abducted, sexually assaulted and killed five-year-old Samantha Runnion in California in July 2002. He was sentenced to death and is currently imprisoned at San Quentin State Prison in California.

The crime

On July 15, 2002 in Stanton, California, Samantha Runnion was playing a board game in the front yard of her home with her six-year-old playmate Sarah Ahn. Avila, who was cruising the area, approached the girls asking if they had seen his Chihuahua dog. Samantha, who cared for animals and even owned a cat, approached the vehicle and asked "How big is it?" Avila then snatched the girl, threw her into the back of his vehicle, and drove off. Samantha kicked and screamed, but Avila did not let her go. She screamed to her friend "tell my grandma, tell my grandma". Her lifeless, naked body was found the next day in neighboring Riverside County. She had been molested and posed.

Sarah Ahn, the only eyewitness to the abduction, provided a portrait of the kidnapper. The drawing revealed a Hispanic male with a mustache, slicked black hair, brown eyes, and between 25-35 years old. The abductor drove a light green Honda. On July 18, investigators received a tip to look into Alejandro Avila, who had been acquitted in 2001 of molesting his ex-girlfriend's nine-year-old daughter and her cousin. The police soon discovered that Avila, who lived with his mother and sister, came home very late the night Samantha was abducted and could not account for his whereabouts. As the investigation continued, the evidence against Avila became more damning. According to court documents, calls from Avila's cell phone were made in Samantha's neighborhood on the day of her abduction. His bank card was used to rent a motel room the same day; Samantha, who was kept alive for several hours after the kidnapping, is believed to have been molested and ultimately killed in that room. Avila's DNA was found on Samantha's body, and her DNA was found in his vehicle. Avila was formally charged for Samantha's death July 23, 2002 and was held at the Orange County Jail until his conviction in 2005.

Notes

During his 2005 murder trial, the prosecution revealed an ongoing conversation between Avila and another offender on the file-sharing program Kazaa. The offender, who was not called for the trial, is believed to have been in Europe. In the conversation, Avila and the other offender boasted about molesting young girls. Both agreed it was wrong to molest a child related to oneself, but acceptable if the child was a stranger.

Avila was sometimes referred to as "Alex" or "Alexander".

Between the time Samantha was found dead and Avila's arrest, the murder received a lot of media coverage. Avila's mother, watching the coverage, told Avila she hoped the murderer was soon caught. Avila asked, "Do you think they should give him the death penalty?" His mother's reply: "Yes."

Throughout the search for Avila, Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona was best known for saying to Avila, "Don't eat. Don't sleep. Because we're coming after you."

External links

Alejandro Avila formally charged in child slaying

The trial of Alejandro Avila

Orange County Register section on Avila trial - Registration required