ABSTRACT
Defendant kidnapped little 5-year-old Samantha Runnion who was playing with her friend Sarah just several yards away from her condominium complex. He drove by them in his green Thunderbird and asked whether they had seen a puppy. When Samantha leaned down and asked whether he was about this big, Avila snatched her up. Samantha bravely screamed, kicked and fought. The last thing Sarah saw was Samantha looking toward her from Avila’s car. She told her friend to get her grandmother. Sarah immediately went to Samantha’s grandmother who called the police. Sarah articulately gave a detailed description to the police which initiated a massive, televised manhunt. A day later, Samantha’s nude and battered body was found on a deserted trail overlooking Lake Elsinore. A few days later, Avila was arrested by police who acted on a tip from the mother of one of Avila’s prior sexual victims.
