John Joseph Famalaro

A jury deliberated for more than five hours Tuesday without reaching a decision on the fate of convicted murderer John J. Famalaro, who faces execution or life in prison for kidnapping, sexually assaulting and killing Newport Beach resident Denise Huber. The panel of nine women and three men did not request that any testimony from the trial's penalty phase be read back to them before they adjourned in late afternoon. They will resume deliberations today .

Describing murder victim Denise Huber as "everybody's daughter" and "the girl next door," a college professor testified Friday that the man charged with killing her cannot get a fair trial in Orange County. Edward Bronson said public awareness of the case is among the highest he has seen, based on a survey conducted at the request of attorneys for defendant John J. Famalaro.

Crowding into the corridors of Orange County Superior Court on Monday, some people jokingly wondered aloud if they had been summoned to serve on yet another trial involving O.J. Simpson. Instead, the approximately 1,200 people were called to the 11th floor of the courthouse throughout the day as potential jurors in the upcoming trial of John J. Famalaro, one of the county's most notorious murder defendants.

In a last-ditch effort to have their client's upcoming murder trial moved outside Orange County, attorneys for John J. Famalaro on Monday asked the 4th District Court of Appeal to overturn a Superior Court judge's recent decision to hold the trial locally.

A new trial date was set Tuesday for John J. Famalaro, a former handyman accused of killing a Newport Beach woman and storing her body in a freezer for three years. Jury selection in the long-delayed murder trial is now scheduled to begin on Feb. 24, two weeks later than originally anticipated. Orange County Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan, who will preside over the high-profile case, said he is prepared to question at least 1,000 potential jurors to find an impartial panel.

If he had his druthers, the Arizona defense attorney for the man accused of killing Denise Huber and carting her body around in a freezer for three years said Friday that he does have a preference of where his client should be tried: in California, where it's tougher to execute someone. "We are aware that in the applicability of the death penalty, it's apparent that California has more lenient provisions," defense counsel Thomas K. Kelly said. "That's clearly an advantage."

Drawing on the Rodney King beating and the notorious "Freeway Killer" case, prosecutors insist that an impartial jury can be found among Orange County's more than 2.5 million residents for the trial of a handyman accused of killing a woman and keeping her nude body in a freezer. Defense attorneys for former Lake Forest resident John J. Famalaro want his murder trial on charges of killing 23-year-old Denise Huber moved to another county.

It probably will be a year--if not longer--before a handyman goes on trial on charges of sexually assaulting and murdering a young Newport Beach woman and then keeping her nude body in a freezer for more than three years. On Friday, Orange County Superior Court Judge Kathleen E. O'Leary set an Oct. 2, 1995, trial date for John J. Famalaro to give attorneys sufficient time to prepare for what may be a death penalty case.

One of Orange County's most notorious murder suspects was transported from Prescott, Ariz., under tight security Thursday and made his first court appearance here on charges that he murdered a young Newport Beach woman and kept her nude body in a freezer. John J. Famalaro, 37, was shackled during his flight into John Wayne Airport and flanked by three Costa Mesa police detectives as he was whisked to jail and later to Municipal Court in Newport Beach.

Ruling at the end of the prosecution's case Wednesday, a Superior Court judge refused to dismiss a kidnapping charge that will make John J. Famalaro eligible for the death penalty if he is convicted of killing Newport Beach resident Denise Huber. Deputy Public Defender Denise Gragg argued that the prosecution had not proved that Huber was taken forcibly when she disappeared from the side of the Costa Mesa Freeway nearly six years ago while on her way home from a rock concert.