SAMANTHA RUNNION

July 26, 1996 - July 15, 2002

Missing: 7/15/02 Age: 5

 

Five year old Samantha Runnion was abducted from her Stanton, California yard on July 15, 2002. Samantha was lured from playing  in her yard with her five-year-old companion,  to help a man search for his “lost dog.” The next day Samantha’s body was found by a frightened man off of a rural Highway 74 road in Riverside County, a nearby county to where Samantha resided.

Samantha’s abductor was Alejandro Avila who had been previously acquitted of charges for molesting his ex-girlfriend’s daughter and niece who previously resided in Samantha’s condominium complex. Samantha’s autopsy showed that Avila has sexually abused Samantha before strangling her to death. His DNA was found underneath her fingertips, and Samantha’s DNA was found in his car. Avila was sentenced to death on July 22, 2005 after he previously was found not guilty in 2002.

From this tragic event rose a foundation created by Samantha’s mother, Erin Runnion, and Erin’s partner dedicated to spreading the awareness of child sexual abuse and child abduction, the Joyful Child Foundation.