Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Live Today

Runnion Suspect to Be Arraigned in California

Aired July 22, 2002 - 12:08   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: In southern California, we soon may hear from the man accused of kidnapping and killing Samantha Runnion. He is expected in court in just a few hours to be arraigned on those charges.

CNN's Rusty Dornin is already at the courthouse in Santa Ana.

Rusty -- what can we expect?

RUSTY DORNIN, CNN NATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, it looks like the district attorney here in Orange County, Kyra, is deciding right now whether to seek the death penalty in this case. Under California law, special circumstances like kidnapping can enable you to seek the death penalty, but apparently, he is going to talk to the family, get a sense of the community before that decision is made.

Meantime 27-year-old Alejandro Avila will face charges of kidnapping, sexual assault and strangling 5-year-old Samantha Runnion. Now, the little girl was snatched from her front yard one week ago today. Avila will appear in court in just a couple of hours.

Now, Sheriff Mike Carona has said that DNA evidence is included in the evidence in this case, but of course, before DNA evidence means anything, you have to have a suspect identified. And it was several tips from the public that did come in that led police to search Avila's apartment and to impound the cars and that sort of thing.

Also, Orange County has its own DNA lab, so they were able to get tests back very quickly, preliminary tests of course, but to get the tests back very quickly, which led the sheriff to say that he is 100 percent certain that this is his man. He also said he wants to review other cases to see if there is any relationship to some unsolved cases.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SHERIFF MICHAEL CARONA, ORANGE COUNTY, CALIFORNIA: I have enough doubt as to what he may have done in the past that our investigative teams, both the Orange County Sheriff's Department and the FBI, will be analyzing all of our investigative and forensic data to see if there are any other cases that Mr. Avila may be linked to. If we can find it, then I am sure that there will be prosecutors that will move forward on that. I am sure this is not the first time that he has at least committed some type of sexual deviancy. (END VIDEO CLIP)

DORNIN: Now, meantime at the apartment complex where Samantha Runnion lived, there was sort of an ongoing shrine going, people have been donating flowers and cards and stuffed animals and that sort of thing. About 1,000 people apparently have gone by. They are now closing that down and asking people not to come by any more. They are trying to get some kind of closure. And funeral services are expected to be announced for the little girl some time this week -- Kyra.

PHILLIPS: Rusty Dornin, tough story to cover. Appreciate it -- thank you.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com.