John Joseph Famalaro

A titillating trophy, a twisted sexual fantasy-come-true, a silent but grisly means of revenge. In the mind of Denise A. Huber's killer, experts say, the 23-year-old victim may have symbolized a way to resolve sexual impotence or infantile conflicts. Those who follow the history of bizarre and brutal crimes have never before heard of one quite like this: A young woman apparently bludgeoned to death, then carted around, naked and handcuffed, in a freezer for as long as three years.

When residents learned that area handyman John Joseph Famalaro was accused of murdering a woman whose frozen body was found in his freezer, the thoughts of the town turned to Marjorie (Midge) Hope. Hope, 50, of Sedona left her job at a local souvenir shop on Halloween, 1992, and was never seen alive again. Her car was found abandoned along a busy road, an eerie similarity to Denise A. Huber's disappearance the previous year. Hope's keys were still inside, along with her purse.

When Denise Annette Huber's nude and handcuffed body was discovered tucked inside a freezer on a summer day in 1994, it solved the baffling mystery of what happened to the stranded Newport Beach motorist who disappeared three years earlier. Now, as John Joseph Famalaro's long-awaited murder trial is set to begin today with jury selection in Orange County Superior Court, many of the painful and troubling questions that still surround the case may finally be answered.

John Joseph Famalaro's mother was devoutly religious and a well-known political activist in Santa Ana who championed conservative causes. His older brother is a convicted felon who was once committed to a state mental hospital for sexually assaulting two patients when he was a chiropractor. Famalaro's former neighbors in Lake Forest describe him as amiable and charming, waving regularly at them as he drove by.

Building their case against murder suspect John Joseph Famalaro, Arizona and Costa Mesa authorities have recovered clothing believed worn by Denise Huber the night she vanished from Orange County three years ago. The clothing, a black miniskirt and other articles, was discovered Monday in a box inside Famalaro's cluttered Prescott Country Club home.

A search of the country club home of John Joseph Famalaro--who has been charged with the murder of Denise A. Huber--turned up a bloodied crowbar that police consider a possible murder weapon as authorities expanded their search Tuesday in Orange County seeking further evidence. Still fearing other victims, authorities were successful in tracking down at least five of nine women in Southern California and Phoenix whose names appeared on a list developed following a search at Famalaro's home.

John Joseph Famalaro should die for kidnapping, sodomizing and killing 23-year-old Denise Anette Huber before hiding her nude body in a freezer for three years, a jury recommended Wednesday in one of Orange County's most notorious murder cases. Famalaro showed no reaction to the death penalty verdict reached by the jury of nine women and three men.

An emotional John J. Famalaro asked to leave the courtroom during the penalty phase of his murder trial Wednesday as his older brother testified about their years growing up together and steadfastly denied ever molesting the defendant when they were children. The testimony of Warren Famalaro, 44, clearly affected his younger brother, who sobbed quietly as he had the day before when his sister, Marion Thobe, testified. He left during a break toward the end of his brother's testimony.

After deciding that John J. Famalaro should be executed for killing Denise Huber, the jury of nine women and three men wiped away tears, joined hands and prayed for his soul. "We prayed that when he does get the death penalty, maybe he would find his own way," said Pat Hamilton, 44, of Buena Park. Hamilton and the other jurors took five hours to convict Famalaro but agonized longer over how he should be punished. After deliberating for 1 1/2 days, they recommended that he be executed.

A bizarre portrait of the mother of convicted murderer John J. Famalaro was painted in court Tuesday, with a former girlfriend of Famalaro's brother testifying that 71-year-old Anne Famalaro once tried to kill her during a confrontation in a Santa Ana motel room. Mary Martin, who was engaged to the defendant's older brother, Warren, in the early 1970s, said the incident remains the most frightening of her life and led to her having an unlisted telephone number for many years.