HOLLYWOOD BEACH : Slayer to Be Given Date for Execution

Convicted murderer Curtis Lynn Fauber has exhausted all of his state appeals and will be assigned an execution date at an upcoming hearing, Deputy Dist. Atty. Donald C. Glynn said Monday.

The California Supreme Court on June 18 upheld the death penalty for Fauber for the 1986 ax killing of Hollywood Beach businessman Thomas Urell. On Sept. 3, the court denied Fauber’s petition for a rehearing, ending the state appeals process, Glynn said.

A hearing to set an execution date will be held at 8:30 a.m. on Oct. 23 in Department 35 of Ventura County Superior Court, he said.

Any execution date will probably be stayed as Fauber’s attorneys turn to the federal courts on appeal, Glynn said. Those appeals could delay Fauber’s execution by another three to five years, he said.

Fauber, a New Mexico resident, was convicted in 1988 of killing Urell during a robbery in Urell’s home. Fauber and an accomplice, Brian Buckley, entered Urell’s home in July, 1986, looking for cocaine, Glynn said.

Fauber struck Urell in the back of the head with the blunt edge of an ax while Urell was tied up, killing him, Glynn said. Buckley was convicted of second-degree murder after agreeing to testify against Fauber.