Jun 24, 2008 7:20 pm US/Pacific
Metrolink Derailment Case Now In Hands Of Jury
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
A prosecutor showed life-and-death pictures of 11 victims of a train derailment -- smiling faces above images of bloody, mangled bodies buried in wreckage -- as she called on jurors today to return murder convictions against a man who admitted he caused the commuter rail disaster.
Los Angeles Deputy District Attorney Cathryn Brougham said, "Don't forget these 11 victims. He sacrificed 11 lives."
The jurors were given the case about an hour before being released to go home.
Juan Alvarez has admitted responsibility for the derailment but claims he never meant to harm anyone but himself. He looked down at the counsel table as Brougham denounced him as "a big faker" who lied when he said he was trying to commit suicide.
Families of the dead passengers sat in the courtroom as she spoke.
Alvarez testified during the trial that he drove his SUV onto the train tracks, doused it and himself with gasoline and planned to be sitting inside when the train hit. But he said he changed his mind at the last minute and then was unable to move the vehicle before he abandoned it.
Alvarez's actions on January 26, 2005, caused a calamity in which a Metrolink train derailed and smashed into another commuter train, killing 11 people and injuring about 180 in Glendale. He has pleaded not guilty to 11 counts of murder, train wrecking and arson.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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