Man Sentenced to Life In Prison for Murdering Two Women

A man convicted of killing two women who lived in the Los Angeles apartment building where he resided was sentenced today to life in prison without parole.

Though his attorney asked for time to file a motion for a new trial, Victor Alvarez, 58, told the court he wanted to be sentenced today.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Craig Richman ordered Alvarez to serve two consecutive life sentences.

"I have little discretion as to sentence in this matter," Richman said.

Alvarez was convicted in May of first-degree murder for the stabbing and beating death of Cordelia Ferguson, 67, whose body was found on Aug. 16, 1982, in her fourth-floor apartment in the 3300 block of West Fourth Street in Koreatown.

Jurors also convicted Alvarez of first-degree murder for the stabbing and beating death of Hazel Hughes, 63, who lived in a first-floor unit. She was found dead about 12 hours after Ferguson's body was discovered.

Jurors also found true the special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and murder during the commission of a burglary and sodomy involving Hughes. Jurors rejected a special circumstance alleging that Ferguson was killed during the commission of a burglary.

Alvarez—who lived in a third-floor apartment—was detained by police at the time of the murders but no charges were filed at that time. He was arrested in October 2009 in New York City after a DNA sample obtained from him matched a partial DNA profile obtained from Hughes' body.

Alvarez's attorney, who argued during trial that the DNA evidence was old and degraded, said she planned to file an appeal.

—City News Service