Life for "Metrolink Murderer"

Trains Magazine General Discussion
1

“Metrolink Murderer” Will Spend Life in Prison
KTLA News

August 20, 2008, 10:43 AM PDT

LOS ANGELES – The man known as the “metrolink murderer” will spend the rest of his life in prison. A judge sentenced 29 year old Juan Manuel Alvarez to 11 consecutive life sentences, calling him a “remorseless killer.”

Superior Court Judge William Pounders said Wednesday he would impose a sentence of “forever” on Juan Alvarez, if it was possible. Alvarez will not be eligible for parole.

Alvarez parked his SUV on railroad tracks at the Glendale-Los Angeles border on January 26, 2005, causing a Metrolink derailment that killed 11 people and injured more than 180 others.

Alvarez was convicted June 26 of 11 counts of first-degree murder, along with one count of arson in connection with the deadliest U.S. train crash since 1999.

Alvarez, who spent more than four days on the stand during his trial, testified that he meant to commit suicide by parking his green Jeep Cherokee on the tracks south of Chevy Chase Drive in Glendale about 6 a.m., but changed his mind and couldn’t get the SUV off the tracks.

“I was going to kill myself,” Alvarez testified. “I feel terrible and I ask for forgiveness.”

He told jurors that it never crossed his mind that anyone aboard the train would be hurt.

Prosecutors countered that the then-26-year-old former construction worker and father of two intended to cause a catastrophe to get his estranged wife’s attention.

Metrolink train No. 100, which was heading south to Union Station, derailed after plowing into the vehicle, then crashed into northbound Metrolink train No. 901 at the Glendale-Los Angeles city line. The train also struck a Union Pacific freight train locomotive, which wound up on its side.

Glendale Fire Department arson investigators said gasoline had been poured on both the inside and outside of the Jeep. That caused a fire after train No. 100 smashed into the

2

[tup]

'nuf said.

3

Life without parole does translate to “Forever”.

He deserves it.

4

This guy is infuriantingly pathetic.

Stated that he intended to committ suicide. I won’t ever condone it, but then why didn’t he just throw himself in front of the train?

Pouring gasoline on his vehicle? IMHO, he probably intended go out in a big fireball to guilt trip his wife and assumed the train would do the job. Likely he didn’t think that the train could derail since as in most highway grade crossing collisions with autos, vans, pickups and suvs, the trains typically stay on the rails and the crew is emotionally shaken but not harmed physically. But it wasn’t an EMD F59 that hit his truck, it was a commuter cab-car with a flat face. The rest is tragic history. [V] Would have been a different outcome had an EMD been on the lead instead of pushing.

He got his wife’s attention, and the rest of the world’s, for that matter. He’s going to have a long time to think about it.

In addition to thinking about the people that were killed; he’s going to be dealing with the likelihood that his wife will move on and wind up with someone else.

No winners in this case at all.

5

I don’t think throwing himself in front of the train would have been the answer. That would have been tragic for mainly the train crew. Far as I’m concerned, the dude can rot in the cross bar hotel for life and will have everyday for the rest of his miserable life to think on the hurt and pain he caused to so many othr people who never did him any harm.

6

It’s to bad they don’t put a picture of each of the eleven victims on the wall of his cell so he will have to look at them the rest of his life.

Al - in - Stockton

7

Trouble with people like this is that he doesn’t see the victims as “victims.” He sees himself as the ‘victim.’

8

There is no happy ending for this story no matter how you look at it, it is almost ironic that he is now spending the rest of his life in jail when his original intention was to commit suicide. I can see where passengerfan is coming from, but the guy will have a very looonnng time now to wake up everyday and remember what he has done. I hope there is some closure for the victims’ families and loved ones now.