Parents of concert-goer who vanished from the side of highway in 1991 after her car broke down tell of their horror when cops found her handcuffed body in murderer's freezer THREE YEARS later
The parents of a California concert-goer kidnapped in 1991 from the side of road after her tire went flat have opened up about her killing for a new documentary.
Denise Huber's body was found in Prescott Valley, Arizona in murderer John Joseph Famalaro's freezer in July 1994 thanks to an unrelated police tip over a stolen truck.
She had been hit over the head with a hammer 30 times and sexually assaulted. Her body was found with her arms handcuffed behind her back and duct tape over her mouth.
Now her parents have told Oxygen about the moment they discovered she had been found dead. Dad Dennis said: 'I have never felt worse in my life. It’s indescribable. It’s the worst thing that can happen to you.'
Denise Huber's body was found in Prescott Valley, Arizona in murderer John Joseph Famalaro's freezer in July 1994 thanks to an unrelated police tip over a stolen truck
John Joseph Famalaro was convicted of her murder in July 1994 after pleading not guilty; he is awaiting the death penalty in San Quentin state prison in California.
Denise's killer Famalaro is said to have found her trying to fix her flat tire, before abducting, raping and killing her.
It was not until three years later, when Jack and Elaine Court, who did not know Denise, would report Famalaro over suspicions he had stolen a moving truck.
Cops would find her body inside the truck, and apprehended her killer.
But Dennis said the moment they found his missing daughter's abandoned car three years earlier was when 'we started to sense it was all over'.
Mom Ione added: 'It’s just such a helpless feeling.'
Denise's dad Dennis, pictured, said the moment they found his daughter's car was when 'we started to sense it was all over'. Mom Ione added: 'It’s just such a helpless feeling'
Jack and Elaine Court, who did not know Denise, reported Famalaro over suspicions he had stolen a moving truck; it was here that her body would be found and her killer apprehended
Denise, 23, had been out with friends to a concert in June 1991 when she failed to return home to her parents house in Newport Beach. The recent University of California Irvine graduate was 'enjoying life and getting ready to settle down', her mom said.
But when her car was found with a flat tire and Denise missing her loved ones began to fear the worse.
Dad Dennis added: 'We asked everybody that we knew to pray, and anybody that they knew to pray. We were basically incapacitated. I could not do anything, I was so grief-stricken and worried, that, at that point, I thought, I could not go any lower.'
'It appeared that Denise had just totally vanished,' David Snowden, former chief of the Costa Mesa Police Department said.
Denise, pictured, had been hit over the head with a hammer 30 times and sexually assaulted. Her body was found with her arms handcuffed behind her back and duct tape over her mouth
Dennis said the moment they found his daughter's car was when 'we started to sense it was all over'. Mom Ione added: 'It’s just such a helpless feeling.' The couple is pictured at the time of their daughter's disappearance
But three years later Jack and Elaine Court reported their new business associate, Famalaro, over suspicions he had stolen a moving truck.
The couple had gone to his home to buy paint supplies. They became suspicious when they spotted the moving van covered in overgrown grass despite the fact Famalaro had told them he had moved to the area six months ago.
After noting the truck's details they informed the police of their suspicions it had been stolen. Their suspicions proved correct and police went to the home to investigate.
It was then that they discovered the body of Denise stored in a freezer in the back of the vehicle.
The freezer Denise's body was found in three years after she went missing
The Courts had gone to his home , pictured,to buy paint supplies. They became suspicious when they spotted the moving van covered in overgrown grass despite the fact Famalaro had told them he had moved to the area six months ago
Denise’s purse was found inside Famalaro's home and police identified the body as her
Dad Dennis said: 'She [Elaine Court] felt there was a pulling of a spirit to the truck and that she was compelled by that pulling to write down the licence plate number.'
Scott Mascher, sheriff of the Yavapai County Sheriff’s Department, said: 'Inside were plastic bags, obviously with something in it. There was an odor, and I noticed frozen blood in the bottom of the freezer.
'When we cut the plastic bag opened and peeled it back, I could see an arm, and as we began to open the bag more, it appeared to be a young adult female.'
Denise’s purse was found inside his home and police identified the body as her.
Famalaro was convicted of her murder in July 1994 after pleading not guilty.
He is awaiting the death penalty in San Quentin state prison in California.
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