Denise Huber Was Kidnapped And Stored In Freezer For Years

The Hubers had a picture-perfect life in Newport Beach, California, until tragic events occurred in 1991.

At the age of 23, Denise was still living at home with her parents and working at a nearby restaurant after earning a degree in social sciences from the University of California, Irvine.

Denise's life, however, was cruelly cut short in June 1991. In the morning of June 3, the family discovered Denise's bed was empty. Her parents believed she had simply spent the night with her friend. But when Denise was still missing that evening when her parents got home, they knew something was wrong.

In an effort to find their daughter, the worried parents called her friends, and they had no idea where she was.

Denise's car was found abandoned on the side of a relatively remote freeway, but Denise herself had vanished.

A pair of pantyhose was left in the front seat of Denise's car, which also had a flat tire. But there was nothing else in the car. Fear filled the hearts of her loved ones when they discovered that Denise's purse and car keys were both missing.

The Search Yielded no Positive Results

As time went on, news of Denise's disappearance spread locally, and her parents appeared on television to appeal for anyone with information to come forward and help solve the case. In the meantime, authorities anticipated the worst.

Police received thousands of tips during the hunt, but none of them proved helpful in the investigation. They were eventually compelled to say the case had become cold. Denise's parents were completely devastated by the lack of explanations.

It took three years later for progress to be made.

A Random Tip Provided a Solution

Retirees, Jack and Elaine Court relocated to Prescott Valley, Arizona, in the 1990s to start a new life, and they started selling paint accessories at the neighborhood swap meet.

They met John Famalaro in July 1994. John claimed to be selling items related to painting. Jack and Elaine accepted John's invitation to pick up some products from his house.

When they got there, they saw something odd: a truck was parked in his backyard, and judging by the overgrowth around the tires, it appeared to have been abandoned. The truck raised red flags for the couple, who were still suspicious despite being able to buy their supplies and leave without incident. John had claimed to have only recently moved to town six months earlier.

The couple secretly noted the license plate number of the truck and voiced their concerns to a deputy police officer who had come to buy things from them because they believed he might have stolen the vehicle.

The officer checked the license plates once he was back at the station and found that the truck had been reported stolen six months prior.

After that, the deputy went to John's home.

Although there was no one at home, the deputy noticed a number of things that concerned him. He suspected the thief of the moving truck may have been using it as a drug lab because there were chemicals outside the truck and an extension cord coming from the back of it.

Less than an hour later, the narcotics team's agents arrived at the residence with a search warrant in hand and started looking around. They discovered a deep freezer in the truck's back, which they initially believed to be filled with drugs. However, what they discovered inside was much worse.

Inside were plastic bags, clearly containing something. The freezer had frozen blood in the bottom, and there was an odor. They saw a young adult female when they cut the plastic bag open

The victim was discovered handcuffed behind her back, on her knees, with her head bowed. Her mouth, which had been taped shut, had been filled with cloth. It was an awful scene.

As the scene was being processed, John Joseph Famalaro pulled into the driveway.

Police arrested him for both murder and the theft of the moving truck despite his refusal to speak. As researchers worked to identify the victim, investigators transported the victim's body to the medical examiner's office.

Investigators searched Famalaro's house while they waited. They unearthed a number of unusual weapons scattered throughout the area as well as a blood-stained hammer and dried tissue in the basement.

Finally, the family of Denise Huber receives justice

In an effort to identify their Jane Doe, authorities in Arizona began contacting law enforcement organizations. At that point, they made contact with detectives in California and learned the woman they had discovered in the freezer might have been Denise Huber, a missing person.

Denise's purse, found in his house contained all of her personal information.

Along with the newspaper clippings Famalaro had gathered about Denise's disappearance, they also discovered the clothing Denise had been wearing when she was kidnapped. The match was confirmed by fingerprints.

An autopsy revealed that after being struck more than 30 times in the head with what was probably a hammer—possibly the one that had been discovered at Famalaro's home—Denise suffered blunt force trauma to the skull and died as a result. She had been sexually assaulted.

Famalaro entered a not guilty plea and was put on trial for Denise's murder in July 1994. He was found guilty of kidnapping and murder and given the death penalty. At the California state prison, San Quentin, he is currently on death row.