Editing Murder of Samantha Runnion (section)

==Kidnapping and murder==
On July 15, 2002, Runnion was playing with a friend in her front yard<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EBjflnEv-es |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/EBjflnEv-es| archive-date=2021-12-11 |url-status=live|title=KTLA 10pm News, July 15, 2002|last=NewsActive3|date=3 October 2015|via=YouTube}}{{cbignore}}</ref> when a man approached them asking for help in finding a lost dog. After a short conversation, he grabbed Samantha, forced her into his car, and drove away. A day later, her nude body was found 50 miles south in [[Cleveland National Forest]].<ref name=Tru /><ref>Montaldo, Charles. [http://crime.about.com/od/sex/a/911_runnion.htm “911 Call Transcript - Finding Samantha Runnion's Body,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130331105121/http://crime.about.com/od/sex/a/911_runnion.htm |date=2013-03-31 }} About.com Guide. Retrieved on April 1, 2013.</ref><ref>Bragg, Rick. [https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/20/us/man-arrested-in-california-case-of-child-s-abduction-and-killing.html “Man Arrested in California Case Of Child's Abduction and Killing,"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731124021/https://www.nytimes.com/2002/07/20/us/man-arrested-in-california-case-of-child-s-abduction-and-killing.html |date=2018-07-31 }} The New York Times, July 20, 2002. Retrieved on April 1, 2013.</ref> The autopsy revealed that Samantha had been sexually assaulted both vaginally and anally. She had suffered at least two blows to her head, which occurred at least half an hour before she died. The trauma caused her brain to swell. The pathologist believed: “She died as a result of mechanical asphyxiation through a compression of the neck, with the blunt force trauma to the head contributing significantly to it as well.” It could not be determined exactly what caused the compression of the neck. The pathologist estimated that Samantha had died between 8 p.m. on July 15 and 2 a.m. on July 16. Police said that the killer was "extremely sloppy" and had left behind "mountains of physical evidence connecting him to the crime."

Alejandro Avila of Lake Elsinore, California, was arrested three days after the abduction. His DNA was found on Samantha's body, and her DNA was found in his car. Avila had previously visited his girlfriend in the condominium complex where Samantha lived and had been acquitted of molesting his girlfriend's daughter and niece. Police found child pornography on Avila's laptop computer, and he had booked a motel room on the day of the murder, where it was believed that Samantha was killed. Avila's public defender argued during the trial that he couldn't have kidnapped the girl, abused, murdered, and then dumped her body 50 miles away in one day as the prosecution believed.

On May 16, 2005, a jury returned a guilty verdict, and Avila was sentenced to death. He is incarcerated at [[San Quentin State Prison]] on death row. Samantha's mother, Erin Runnion, launched a foundation called "The Joyful Child Foundation," whose mission is "Preventing crimes against children through programs that educate, empower, and unite families and communities."<ref name=DeathRowList>{{cite journal | author=Division of Adult Operations | title=Death Row Tracking System Condemned Inmate List (Secure) | version=13 August 2009 | format=.PDF | publisher=California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation | url=http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Reports_Research/docs/CondemnedInmateListSecure.pdf | date=31 December 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100819011358/http://www.cdcr.ca.gov/Reports_Research/docs/CondemnedInmateListSecure.pdf | archive-date=19 August 2010 | access-date=2011-02-28 | url-status=dead }}</ref> Avila has filed multiple appeals since the initial verdict, but none have been successful.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-07-01 |title=State high court upholds death penalty for Samantha Runnion's killer |url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-death-penalty-upheld-for-samantha-runnions-killer-20140630-story.html |access-date=2025-01-13 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>State of Tennessee v. Alejandro Avila-Suarez. Tenn. 2024. [https://www.tncourts.gov/sites/default/files/OpinionsPDFVersion/UNSIGNED-M2023-1649-CCA-AVILA%20SALAZAR.pdf Archive]</ref>