KINGMAN – The arraignment of defendants in criminal court proceedings is most commonly mundane, ministerial and uneventful. It was no different when Daniel Avila finally made his first local court appearance on May 16, nearly two years after he allegedly killed a Kingman area couple.
Avila, 26, El Mirage, faces prosecution for the June 27, 2022 shooting deaths of Retta Atkins, 73, also known as the “Gold Lady”, and Darren VanHouten, 50, at their home on the backside of the Hualapai Mountains from Kingman. Eerie surveillance system video from their residence in the 2900 block of Dilligaf Road reveals a subject lurking outside before the deadly encounter with the victims.
A break in the Mohave County Sheriff’s Office investigation of the double homicide came when Avila was arrested on Feb. 21, 2023 and it was later determined the weapon that he possessed at the time matched with shell casings found at the scene of the Dilligaf Road double murder scene. The Avila link was fortified by observation that the Tempe and Dilligaf Rd. burglars could be one and the same given similar suspect appearance captured by security video in both instances.
A number of other incriminating evidentiary discoveries solidified suspicion, leading to Avila’s indictment by a Mohave County Grand Jury in the local case. Avila pleaded guilty to the Maricopa County case and was sentenced to prison before he was recently extradited to Kingman where he faces far more serious consequences of prosecution.
Not guilty pleas were entered on Avila’s behalf and the defendant himself provided perhaps the only surprise of the arraignment proceeding when he informed the court that he was not aware of his local charges. Judge Doug Camacho obliged with answers, informing the defendant convictions on the first-degree murder counts could result in a minimum 25-year prison term and up to a possible death sentence.
Deputy Mohave County Attorney Jacob Cote told the Judge that his office will make an initial plea agreement offer and decide whether it will seek the death penalty before Avila’s next hearing on June 5.
Judge Camacho appointed the Public Defender’s Office to represent Avila and set his bond at $1 million.
Dave Hawkins
