Murder Charge Expected in Teen’s Death

David Alvarez, the man who led investigators to the body of 14-year-old Oak View resident Kali Manley, will be charged with her murder possibly as early as today, authorities said Monday.

But it’s unclear if the case will be handled by local prosecutors. Dist. Atty. Michael D. Bradbury has notified the state attorney general that he may have a conflict of interest in prosecuting the case against Alvarez, 22, because he is a friend of the suspect’s wealthy parents.

“I know Mr. Alvarez because his parents, Marie and Eugene Alvarez, are friends and political supporters of mine,” Bradbury wrote. “We have each been in each other’s homes, dined together and ride horses together. . . . I wanted to bring the matter to your attention and to solicit your opinion.”

As authorities prepared their case against Alvarez, more details emerged Monday about his violent history as well as his actions the night Manley vanished.

In the hours before her disappearance Dec. 19, Manley was with David Alvarez at an Ojai convenience store where he flashed a gun and threatened another man, authorities said. He remains in custody in lieu of $250,000 bail stemming from that incident. Authorities expect to book Alvarez “within 24 to 48 hours for the murder of Kali Manley,” Capt. Mike Regan of the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department said Monday.

Investigators refused to release how Manley was killed or other details from an autopsy, citing the ongoing investigation.

Alvarez was a suspect in Manley’s disappearance even before he volunteered to lead investigators to the body on Saturday because he was the last person seen with the Nordhoff High School freshman, authorities said.

The night she disappeared, Manley was supposed to be staying at a friend’s house, where no parents were home, authorities said. Manley’s girlfriend knew David Alvarez, who showed up with another man to hang out with the girls.

Neighbors reported that the group could be heard “partying” that night. Beer cans flew over the fence and hip-hop music blasted from a stereo, they said.

Shortly after midnight, Manley left for a nearby Circle K with Alvarez and his friend to buy alcohol. A store camera shows Alvarez’s friend entering the store to make the purchase.

As Manley sat in Alvarez’s green Toyota pickup, a man with whom Alvarez had an ongoing feud drove into the store’s parking lot. Alvarez pulled out a gun and threatened the man, investigators said. Someone called 911, but the group left before police arrived.

Alvarez drove Manley and his friend to a Woodland Avenue mobile home to continue the party, authorities said. They said Manley and Alvarez reportedly later went into a back bedroom, while Alvarez’s friend slept on a couch in the living room.

When the friend awoke hours later, investigators said they were told, Manley and Alvarez were gone. The next evening, Manley’s parents reported their daughter missing and an intensive search for the girl gained momentum through the week, with hundreds of volunteers combing the rugged and icy Ojai Valley.

Investigators, meanwhile, turned their attention toward Alvarez. They interviewed his friend from the Dec. 19 outing, and they seized Alvarez’s green truck from his parents’ Ojai five-acre estate.

Alvarez’s attorney, Louis Chuck Samonsky, said his client wanted to cooperate with authorities, but Samonsky barred Alvarez from doing so until the district attorney offered not to seek the death penalty.

Bradbury refused. On Saturday morning, Alvarez decided to go forward and lead investigators to Manley’s corpse.

It is not the first time Alvarez--whose family owns a string of fast-food restaurants--has been in trouble with the law, according to friends, authorities and court records. Many who know Alvarez described him as a pampered son with an extensive history of personal and criminal problems that includes theft, resisting arrest and charges of battering his wife and mother-in-law.

Court records state Alvarez repeatedly threatened and allegedly attempted to rape his wife, Brooke, whom he married three years ago when she was 16 and a student at Nordhoff High. At that time, she was pregnant with the couple’s son.

In a sworn declaration, Brooke Alvarez--who filed for divorce four months ago--stated that on Aug. 14 the couple were sitting on a couch in her mother’s home with their son, 3, when Alvarez began to “force himself” on his wife.

“He kept touching and trying to kiss me. I kept resisting and telling him, ‘No,’ ” she wrote. “I went into the kitchen to use the phone. He followed me and grabbed the phone from me. He pulled me into the bedroom and back onto the bed. He made it clear he wanted to have sex with me.”

She said she yelled and kicked out a bedroom window during a struggle with her husband, who retreated into the living room. She locked herself in a bathroom with her son, but Alvarez broke in, grabbed her by the face and pushed her against a bathroom cabinet before leaving, she said.

Alvarez was later arrested on suspicion of spousal battery and posted a $5,000 bond. A trial date on that matter remains set for Jan. 12.

He was accused of being violent with his wife again in November, when he allegedly threatened her at a bus stop, according to divorce papers. Two weeks later, she filed for a restraining order and asked for sole custody of their son.

On Monday, Brooke Alvarez, who now lives in Ventura, appeared in court for a hearing in the divorce case. She was granted a two-year restraining order and awarded custody of the child. She could not be reached for comment after the hearing.

Friends of Brooke’s said she has worked as many as three jobs at a time, including at an Ojai carwash and serving food in a cafeteria, to support herself and her son rather than accept money from her husband’s family.

“She didn’t want to owe them anything,” a friend said. “She just wanted to be away from him, to know she and her son were safe.”

Friends said that after arguments with his wife, Alvarez often tried to make up with her by offering to buy her expensive clothes, new cars or elegant dinners.

“But she didn’t want that anymore,” another friend said. “She just wanted to feel normal, to feel safe again.”

In addition to the domestic strife with his wife, Alvarez had several run-ins with officers in recent years, court records show.

In August 1996, a day before his 20th birthday, Alvarez was arrested at the same Circle K where Manley was seen with him. He was arrested on suspicion of stealing a beer and running from authorities. He was sentenced to three years’ probation and 30 days in county jail.

Earlier in 1996, Alvarez was arrested for battery against his mother-in-law, Mona Campbell. He pleaded guilty and was allowed to serve a concurrent 30-day jail sentence.

A memorial service for Kali Manley will be held today at 2:30 p.m. at the Ojai Valley Community Church on El Centro. That service will be followed by one at 3:30 p.m. at Nordhoff High School, where Manley was a student and which was used as a command post for authorities and volunteers during the search.

Times staff writers Tracy Wilson, Gary Polakovic and Hilary MacGregor contributed to this story.