1. Alejandro Avila
- Sometimes referred to as “Alex” or “Alexander”

2. Background: Hispanic Male 30 years old Lives with mother and sister
History of having child pornography on computer

3. Crimes accused on Committing:
DATE
VICTIM(S)
PUNISHMENT
Convicted of kidnap, two counts of sexual assault*, and murder
July 15, 2002
5-year old Samantha Runnion
Sentenced to death- California death row
Sexual assault
2001
Ex girlfriends 9-year old daughter and her cousin
He was acquitted*
*Acquitted- free (someone) from a criminal charge by a verdict of not guilty.
*Sexual Assault- any type of sexual contact or behavior that occurs without the explicit consent of the recipient

4. *Most recent crime (2002):
Alejandro Avila was convicted of kidnapping 5-year old Samantha Runnion.
He was able to lure her into his car, while she was playing in her yard, by telling her he needed help finding his lost puppy.
Her naked body was found the next day in neighboring Riverside county
She was sexually molested and killed
Her body was posed as if the killer wanted to show off his work
He was formally charged for her death on July 23rd, 2002
Committing both murder during a kidnap and murder during a child molestation makes him eligible for death penalty

5. Evidence against criminal:
DNA found in Avila’s car consisted mostly of tears, lead to Samantha
DNA found under Samantha's fingernail lead to Avila
Cell phone and bank records that placed the defendant in the area where the girl was abducted
Shoe prints similar to Avila’s and tire prints matching his vehicle were found at the site of where her body was posed
Sarah (Samantha’s 8-year-old friend)- She gave a description of the man and stated “She was screaming while he threw her into the car, she was screaming help or something, when Samantha was in the vehicle she just looked back at me”.
One of the girls he was acquitted of molesting had lived with her father at the same apartment complex as Samantha, though she had moved several months before the abduction

6. Quotes:
"I feel a tremendous sense of relief that Samantha's fight was not in vain," Runnion said. "He is guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty... and that feels really good because nobody should get away with this." – Samantha’s Mother
"They (police) were shouting at him to confess," she said. "They are falsely accusing him.“ – Avila’s Mother
"He said, 'Who can do such a thing to a little girl?' " Avila said. – Avila’s mother claimed Alejandro stated this

7. Cultural references:
Books- None
TV show- None
Movie- None

8. Theory that may explain his behavior:
I believe that Alejandro Avila committed his crimes under the behavioral theory. The behavioral theory is the fact that people are not born with violent disposition but rather they learn to think and act violently as a result of their day-to-day experiences.
I believe it is this theory because knowing that there is little to no background information on him, such as he was molested as a child or he was bullied in school, leads me to believe that he has learned this behavior through some way or another. He could have seen it happening in public and noticed that the criminal never got caught and he was able to gain something. Or he saw it on television as a kid or a teenager and he wanted to try. So I believe that Alejandro Avila learned his criminal ways by observing and took a liking to what he has witnessed.