Verdict in train wreck: murder

On Wednesday, jurors sent a note to Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge William Pounders requesting "a more elaborate definition" of first-degree murder and malice; and they wanted to know whether premeditation had "any effect on deciding first-degree murder in this case." At least two jurors also requested a visit to the site where the incident occurred, but withdrew their request Thursday, less than an hour before the panel reached a verdict.

Defense attorneys Thomas W. Kielty and Michael R. Belter, who were appointed to represent Alvarez, declined to comment.

Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley praised the work of Deputy Dist. Attys. John Monaghan and Cathryn Brougham, the Major Crimes Division prosecutors on the case.

"I am gratified with today's verdicts," Cooley said in a written statement.

Prosecutors had argued that on the morning of the crash, Alvarez doused his vehicle with gasoline and parked it on the tracks about half a mile south of downtown Glendale, hoping to cause a catastrophe.

Defense lawyers had insisted that the tragedy was an accident that occurred after Alvarez, a delusional methamphetamine addict, changed his mind about committing suicide. Alvarez testified that he tried, but failed, to get his vehicle off the tracks.

During five days of testimony, Alvarez apologized for causing the tragedy and asked for forgiveness from victims' relatives. He told jurors that although he expected to be punished, he was "not a murderer."

"It was an accident," he testified, "a stupid mistake."

The defense lawyers portrayed their client as a troubled but sympathetic man who had survived an abusive childhood. He had often tried to kill himself, they said.

Defense attorneys said that on the day of the wreck, Alvarez -- whom they described as a loving father of two small children -- snapped. He was upset over his wife getting a restraining order that prevented him from seeing his children. When he drove his SUV onto the tracks, Alvarez's "single-minded purpose" was to commit suicide, the defense team argued.

But prosecutors depicted Alvarez as a manipulative liar who was violent and dangerous.

Under cross-examination, Alvarez acknowledged that he carried a knife and sometimes a machete. He also admitted that he had once pulled a knife on his cousin, thought about killing his wife and threatened to kill her over an alleged lover.

Prosecutors contended that Alvarez conducted "pretend" suicides as a way to draw sympathy and pity.