VENTURA COUNTY ROUNDUP : Ojai : Kali Manley Murder Trial Postponed

An October murder trial for the 23-year-old Ojai man accused of strangling Oak View teen Kali Manley has been postponed until Jan. 17.

Defense attorneys for David Alvarez told a judge Wednesday they need more time to prepare their case after receiving a stack of new information from prosecutors.

“I got a 40-pound box of discovery and there are some new issues popping up,” attorney James Farley said after the court hearing. Farley would not say what those issues are but said he needs more time to respond.

The defense team also filed a motion to dismiss one of the criminal charges against Alvarez. He is accused of killing Manley, a 14-year-old freshman at Nordhoff High School, during an attempted rape on Dec. 20, 1998, in Ojai.

During a July preliminary hearing, Farley and co-counsel Robert Schwartz argued there was no evidence Manley was the victim of an attempted rape. The judge disagreed and ordered Alvarez to stand trial on that charge in addition to one count of murder.

Farley and Schwartz are now asking a new judge to dismiss the attempted rape charge, as well as a special allegation that the slaying occurred during a sexual assault.

Alvarez has pleaded not guilty to the charges. He is scheduled to appear in Ventura County Superior Court on Oct. 1 for a hearing on the dismissal motion. He is being held without bail in Ventura County’s main jail in Ventura.