Listen Now!  (5:56 Minutes)

Download the MP3  (2.0 MB)

• More LA Daily News Podcasts
• Podcast/iTunes FAQ
• Download the Latest iTunes Software

Jury asked to decide if Metrolink defendant is liar bent on mass killing or suicidal addict

Was Juan Manuel Alvarez a pathological liar intent on mass murder? Or was he just "damaged goods" with a drug addiction and suicidal tendencies?

During closing arguments in his murder trial Thursday, the two sides tried to sway a jury tasked with choosing how responsible Alvarez was for the 2005 Metrolink train crash near Glendale that killed 11 people and injured 180.

"He will say whatever sounds good at the moment," John Monaghan, the case's lead prosecutor, told the Los Angeles Superior Court jury. "That's what a pathological liar does. He was threatening to kill his wife, his brother-in-law and others. He was threatening to kill people, stab people and shoot people."

Defense attorney Thomas Kielty painted a far different picture, saying his client was mentally ill, addicted to methamphetamines and sought to kill himself by driving his SUV onto the tracks while distraught over his estrangement from his wife and children.

"I think we can all agree that Mr   Read Full Article...