2 Sides of Suspect in Teen’s Death Are Seen

The main suspect in the death of 14-year-old Oak View resident Kali Manley was described Sunday by people who know him as having a dual personality.

On the one hand, some said, David Alvarez, 22, was the articulate and outgoing son of a wealthy family.

But to others, he was a spoiled individual who was heavily dependent on drugs and despite being married and the father of a 3 1/2-year-old son, liked to keep company with young women.

“His background wasn’t good,” said a woman who knew his family and declined to be identified. “He was always in trouble.”

But a former neighbor had a different view. He said he was impressed enough with Alvarez to hire him as a warehouse worker at his company, Century Electrical Supply, in Newbury Park.

“He was a hell of a nice kid,” said Sam, who declined to give his last name. “His social skills are top-notch. He knew all the customers by first name. . . . He was an extremely smart kid.”

On Saturday, Alvarez led investigators to a drainage pipe in the Pine Mountain area north of Ojai where the remains of Manley, a Nordhoff High School freshman, were found.

The discovery ended an intensive search by hundreds of volunteers that began after Manley disappeared Dec. 19. She was last seen about 11 p.m. that day getting into a green pickup truck with two young men in front of a Circle K store along California 33.

An autopsy was performed on the girl Sunday to determine a cause of death, but investigators declined to release the results until later this week.

Neighbors of the Alvarez family said David Alvarez’s green pickup truck was often seen sitting in front of his parents’ home in the exclusive Persimmon Hill area, where signs warn outsiders to keep out.

The large Spanish-style home, which sits on roughly 5 acres, includes a horse stable.

Sheriff’s investigators visited the home late last week and later left with the pickup.

In a statement made Sunday through attorneys, the Alvarez family said they had been suffering all week with concern for the Manley family.

They added that, though they did not know whether their son was involved in the slaying, they encouraged him to go to police if he had any information.

Although sheriff’s officials and the district attorney have not named Alvarez as a suspect in Manley’s death, his lawyer, Louis Chuck Samonsky, said again Sunday that authorities are looking into his involvement in the case.

Alvarez has not been charged with Manley’s death. He remains in custody in Ventura County Jail on $250,000 bail on unrelated charges. Authorities said Alvarez was arrested last Monday in connection with an earlier incident in which he allegedly flashed a gun at someone and made a terrorist threat. The incident had occurred at the same Circle K convenience store where Manley was last seen, police said.

Shortly after his arrest, Alvarez told his attorney that he knew the whereabouts of Manley’s body and wanted to tell authorities.

While an exhaustive manhunt for the girl dragged on for several days, Samonsky instructed his client to keep quiet until Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury promised not to seek the death penalty.

Samonsky said he agonized over the decision barring his client from leading authorities to Manley’s remains, knowing that the girl’s parents--and hundreds of volunteers--were frantically searching for their daughter.

“I knew the family was devastated and had no idea what the state of their girl was,” Samonsky said.

“If I had a daughter under the same circumstance, I couldn’t imagine the pain. I wanted nothing more than to find that girl and relieve that pain. But I have a duty to my client, and it’s not the defense attorney’s role to parade the defendant into the death chamber.”

Bradbury told Samonsky on Christmas Eve that there would be no deal. But Alvarez’s family said it didn’t matter, they wanted their son to cooperate.

“I had to look them in the eye and tell them that there was a potential their son could face the death penalty,” Samonsky said. “They just said, ‘If that should be the case, we’re prepared to accept it.’ ”

Samonsky said he spent most of Christmas Day talking to Alvarez about his options and warning him that capital punishment was a possibility if prosecutors charged him with murder.

“But he just waived his hand across the air and said, ‘I want to do it now,’ ” Samonsky said.

At the Circle K store in Oak View where Manley was last seen, residents set out a bouquet of flowers along with a candle and her picture as a memorial.

Outside the Manleys’ home on Larmier Street, a steady procession of mourners arrived Sunday to give hugs and gifts.

“It’s all very tragic, the loss of a loved one,” said Manley family friend Floyd Lawrence.

“We can handle it when people are older, but not when they’re very young.”

A memorial service for Manley will be held at the Ojai Valley Community Church at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday--which would have been Manley’s 15th birthday.

Afterward, the family will host a gathering at their daughter’s high school, which served as a command post during the days of the search for the girl.

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Times staff writer Gary Polakovic contributed to this story.