Prostitute’s Killer Gets Maximum Term

A San Marcos man was sentenced Monday to 25 years to life in state prison for first-degree murder in a case investigated by the Metropolitan Homicide Task Force, the group probing the slayings of dozens of prostitutes in the county since 1985.

Alan (Buzzard) Stevens, 48, was given the maximum sentence by San Diego Superior Court Judge David Gill, who also levied a $10,000 fine against him.

The victim, Cynthia McVey, 26, of Livermore, Calif., was found strangled Nov. 28, 1988. The nude body of McVey, who had worked as a prostitute, was discovered on an isolated road near the Pala Indian Reservation.

McVey’s mother, Robin Borquez, read a statement Monday in court, saying: “My daughter can no longer ask for justice, so I will ask for her. . . . When a child dies, a mother’s grief is forever.”

Afterward, Deputy Dist. Atty. Brian Michaels said the homicide task force is investigating three other murders of women in North County that could have been committed by Stevens.

“Those cases are still open. It is possible that added charges will be filed against Mr. Stevens . . . but I’m not optimistic,” the prosecutor said.

Stevens’ conviction represents the sole murder charge filed in the investigation of the deaths of one male transvestite and 44 female prostitutes, whose bodies have been found dumped in North or East County since 1985.

Stevens’ attorney, Milly Durovic, moved for a new trial on grounds that the jury did not hear medical testimony about an illness Stevens has which could have eliminated him as a suspect.

Gill denied the motion.

According to his probation report, Stevens has 196 tattoos and weighs more than 300 pounds from an overactive thyroid.

He made no statement in court and, upon advice from his attorney, did not consent to an interview with the probation department. Durovic said she will appeal the conviction.

A jury found Stevens guilty Oct. 31.