Jury calls for life in prison without parole for Metrolink killer

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Juan Manuel Alvarez was convicted last month of 11 counts of murder in the 2005 derailment near Glendale. The defense said he intended to kill himself when he parked his SUV on the tracks, not others. By Ann Simmons and Jack Leonard, Los Angeles Times Staff Writers

Jurors today decided that Juan Manuel Alvarez, a former Compton laborer, should spend the rest of his life in prison for causing the deadly Metrolink crash three years ago.

Alvarez smiled broadly and spoke quietly to one of his defense attorneys after a court clerk read the verdicts in a packed courtroom.

The jury reached its decision after deliberating for less than 3 1/2 hours. The same panel of nine women and three men last month found Alvarez guilty on 11 counts of first-degree murder.

The 29-year-old former construction worker was also found guilty of arson and a special circumstance allegation that made him eligible for the death penalty. Under the life sentence handed down by the jury, Alvarez is not eligible for parole.

The tragedy unfolded in the early hours of Jan. 2, 2005, when Alvarez parked his sport utility vehicle on railway tracks near Glendale and fled. A Metrolink passenger train plowed into the vehicle, struck a parked freight train, and slammed into an oncoming commuter train. Along with the 11 killed, at least 180 people were injured.

During his eight-week trial, Alvarez testified that he never meant to hurt anyone but himself, describing his actions as an aborted suicide attempt. He apologized to relatives of the victims and survivors of the crash, and asked for forgiveness.

Jurors heard details of Alvarez's troubled childhood, his drug addiction, paranoia and the several attempts to end his own life.

In closing arguments in the penalty phase earlier this week, defense attorney Michael Belter told the panel that justice would be served by giving his client "a sentence in the penitentiary for the rest of his life." Belter emphasized that Alvarez's tortured childhood, mental instability and addiction to methamphetamine had contributed to his client's demise and were circumstances that led to the rail tragedy.

Alvarez had been "beaten like a dog" as a young child, Belter told jurors, and "literally raised in a home of chaos and neglect." He had urged jurors to consider Alvarez's positive attributes, such as when he was not on drugs, he was described by relatives as a kind and loving father.

But throughout the trial, prosecutors said Alvarez was a liar and a schemer who was obsessed with getting attention. On the day of the crash, prosecutors said Alvarez wanted to cause a spectacle in an attempt to win back the affections of his estranged wife. They rejected the suggestion that he was trying to commit suicide.

Before he drove his vehicle onto the tracks, Alvarez acknowledged during his trial testimony that he had thoughts about killing his wife at her job. But she was not at work at the time.

Assistant Dist. Atty. John Monaghan told the jury during his closing arguments in the penalty phase that Alvarez did not deserve their leniency. He said Alvarez had done "a terrible thing" and he should "pay for that with his life."

Prosecutors also argued that Alvarez's alleged poor psychological health and troubled upbringing could not be used as "an excuse" or "a crutch" for his actions later in life. He had urged the jury not to forget the victims and the effect of their deaths on family members, who offered tearful testimony during the penalty phase about the torment they suffered without their loved ones.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-me...story?track=rss