[UPDATED] Philong Huynh, Accused Murderer of Hurley Intern, Will Not Face Possibility of Death Penalty, Trial Rescheduled
Categories: Crime-iny
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| Philong Huynh will face life in prison, beginning May 23. |
Huynh met Williams while the 23-year-old was in San Diego working as an intern for Hurley International at the Action Sports Retailers trade show. If convicted, Huynh may serve life in prison.
More details of the case are in the original post below.
Original Post, Nov. 17, 2010, 1:44 p.m.: Despite the disturbing and twisted details of the Dane Williams murder case, prosecutors have opted to not seek the death penalty for the man accused of raping, then killing, the 23-year-old Huntington Beach resident.
As of October, The Orange County Register reports, prosecutors had been seeking the death penalty. However, on Friday, San Diego County District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis announced that her office--after a committee considered the "mitigating and aggravating circumstances" of the case, according to Paul Levikow, a spokesman from the DA's office--opted to reduce the possible maximum sentence. The DA's office refused to discuss details of why the decision was made.
In a separate development, a warrant was issued and served to search the phone of a California state prison inmate, James Swann, who told a DA investigator that he had photos on his phone of Huynh and Williams at a "gay sex party" in Hillcrest from a day after Williams went missing. Swann is in prison for unrelated charges.
Williams disappeared during the early morning of Jan. 26, 2008, while in San Diego for the Action Sports Retailer trade show, working for Hurley International as an intern. He had spent the evening with friends at the Hard Rock Hotel, but did not show up for a ride back to Orange County the following day. That's when he was reported missing.
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| Dane Williams was known as "Downtown Dane" to friends. |
Despite a police investigation, the case went without any leads for more than a year. Family, friends and members of the surf community hosted a rally in Downtown San Diego on the one-year anniversary of Williams' death, calling for justice.
In September 2009, Huynh was arrested after DNA evidence found on a separate victim, a Navy man who survived the incident, linked Huynh to the DNA found on Williams' clothing. Huynh pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Reports say that Huynh drugged his victims with Benzodiazepine, a tranquilizer similar to Valium. In both incidents, the victims were missing their underwear.
Huynh is gay and a diagnosed schizophrenic. Prior to the incident, Huynh had a criminal record, including being an Arizona-based parole violator, stemming from a 1998 charge for kidnapping and unlawful imprisonment.
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