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case file presents the detective's dilemma a 10-part series narrated by me that dives deep into case 35 operation
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mayan featuring interviews with family members and the lead detective steve fulcher when a moral dilemma arises
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you'll have the opportunity to put yourself in the detective's shoes and ask yourself what would you have done
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the detective's dilemma is available to stream for free from march 14 only on spotify
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stay tuned to hear the official trailer at the end of today's episode and be sure to follow the detective's dilemma
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on spotify [Music] our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents if you feel at any
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time you need support please contact your local crisis center for suggested phone numbers for confidential support
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please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website it was cold and rainy in los angeles
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county on the morning of wednesday january 26 2005. shortly before 6 a.m jenny dull pulled
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into the deserted car park of the costco retail warehouse in glendale a suburb 10
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miles north of downtown l.a while dark quiet and to dreary outside the interior of the costco was bright
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and bustling with employees preparing for the day ahead jenny began work at the loading dock
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a few minutes into her shift a thunderous roar blasted through the building causing the entire warehouse to
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shake within moments the area fell eerily silent jenny stopped what she was doing and
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looked anxiously at those around her once their shock had worn off the workers rushed out to investigate the
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source of the frightening noise [Music] [Music] earlier that morning engineer bruce gray
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boarded a metrolink 100 a blue and white double decker train headed for downtown
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la over 100 commuters were spread out behind him on the train's upper and lower compartments
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bruce entered the front carriage and took his position behind the controls metrolink 100 reached the speed of
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around 80 miles per hour as it hurtled from station to station soon the train was on the outskirts of
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the city heading south towards glendale as its headlights pierced the pre-dawn darkness
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bruce grey noticed something glint up ahead parked on the rails was a green jeep
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cherokee suv it was sitting a little further up from the chevy chase drive crossing
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its headlights were off bruce couldn't see anyone near it he slammed on the emergency brakes and
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shut off the throttle but it was too late knowing the train had no chance of stopping in time bruce ran through the
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carriage behind him yelling at passengers to hold on seconds later the train collided with
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the jeep at approximately 63 miles per hour the jeep overturned and embedded under
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the front of the first carriage the grinding metal on metal produced hot sparks that triggered a blaze at the
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collision point it spread quickly through the first undercarriage the screams of commuters echoed down the
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remaining carriages accompanied by the loud crashing noises caused by the fiery impact
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because of the jeep's comparative size the collision did a little to slow the train
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it continued along for 250 yards to where the track split in two the front part of the first passenger
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carriage exited and travelled along the side track while its rear and the remaining carriages continued along the
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main line the lights inside the train flickered out commuters fell silent all they could hear was the screeching
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of the undercarriage as it dragged across gravel they braced themselves in nervous
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anticipation it was common for trains to be parked on the side track when not in use
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on this occasion a freight train was dormant on the side track and had been for several days
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it contained construction materials used to repair a portion of the track further
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north that had been damaged from a recent mudslide now split between both the main line and
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side track the front passenger carriage of metrolink 100 collided with the stationary freight train at about 47
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miles per hour half the carriage was crushed on impact passengers inside were violently thrown
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from their seats with some landing on the tracks outside smoke filled the air as the train
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jackknifed across the tracks and derailed spilling debris everywhere traveling in the opposite direction was
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another double-decker passenger train engineer thomas ormiston was operating metrolink 901 heading north from
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downtown l.a thomas was on schedule having just departed glendale station within moments his train sped into the
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crash site ahead the first two passenger carriages of the 901 narrowly cleared the accident
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between metrolink 100 and the freight train had it not been for the jackknife effect caused by the collision metrolink
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901 would have passed through the area unscathed however metrolink 100 raked down the entire side
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of the final passenger carriage of the 901 completely caving it in on one side as the 901 was traveling at
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approximately 50 miles per hour the impact caused all three of its passenger carriages to derail and topple
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over an overhead signal tower also sustained damage falling and crashing onto one of
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the carriages debris from the three train wrecks spilled over into the parking lot of the
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nearby costco employees emerged from the building and rushed to the scene armed with fire
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extinguishers they desperately battled the flames engulfing the front carriage of
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metrolink 100 which were reaching 20 feet high a costco employee retrieved a forklift
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from the warehouse to try to dislodge some of the wreckage to reach those trapped inside
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others risked their own lives by directly pulling people from the wreck which was so damaged it hardly resembled
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a carriage when leaking diesel fuel soaked their clothes they were forced to ease back or
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risk catching fire yet they managed to pull out one final victim before retreating
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a man covered in blood and soot all of his limbs appeared to be broken and his face was charred black
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as he was lifted out the injured man profusely thanked his rescuers he asked them to pray for him before
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closing his eyes minutes later he passed away he was one of 11 fatalities eight people had died on metrolink 100
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the remainder were on board metrolink 901 at 6 03 am three short beeps came over the radio of
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the lapd's northeast division an announcement followed explaining that there had been a train derailment at
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glendale officers raced to the location they were confronted by a thick cloud of
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smoke that wreaked of diesel fuel it shadowed a chaotic scene a dazed and frantic crowd had gathered
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in the parking lot of the nearby costco almost 200 people bore injuries those in the worst condition were being
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wheeled around in store cards others were shaken but able to walk the adjacent train tracks were a mess of
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twisted and burning metal firefighters extinguished the accompanying blaze allowing responders
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to retrieve the remaining passengers scattered throughout the crash site they had sustained fractured bones head
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injuries lacerations and in some cases impalement from train debris the cause of the crash the jeep cherokee
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suv was near obliterated pieces of the vehicle were scattered over 300 yards what was left of the jeep's chassis was
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still lodged upside down under the burnt remains of metrolink 100's front passenger carriage
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even though the vehicle's fuel tank was warped by heat it remained intact it contained almost 12 gallons of
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gasoline meaning it was almost full investigators walked along the track examining the remains of the jeep
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they located two plastic one gallon water bottles that had been in the vehicle along with a headrest upholstery
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from the passenger side door and the back seat weather stripping from around the rear window and the two pieces of
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molding from the roof even though the jeep's fuel tank was intact all of these items tested positive for
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gasoline they also located the tailgate with the license plate attached a witness emerged who had seen the jeep
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moments prior to the crash it was driving along chevy chase drive before pulling off to continue along the
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side road parallel to the railway lines it was put in park and a male driver got
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out he then poured a liquid from a large jug all over the exterior of the vehicle
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starting on the roof and then moving to the hood and rear once the bottle was empty the man got
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back into the jeep and continued driving down the side road until he found an entry point onto the train line
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he then parked the vehicle on the tracks and waited 25 year old juan manuel alvarez had a
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rough start in life born in 1979 juan grew up in mexicali a city along the u.s mexico border
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he was beaten and abused by his alcoholic and drug dealing father who had been a professional boxer
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after one particularly brutal attack one's father tied him to a table overnight on another occasion eight-year-old juan
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was pulled from his home by his older sister cynthia once outside cynthia watched through a
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window as her father beat their mother so severely that blood soaked her face they were both mouthing words at cynthia
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but she couldn't make out what they were saying turning around cynthia saw one trying to hang himself
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their father came outside and rescued him a short while after juan tried to take
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his own life again this time by jumping in front of a moving bus his grandmother pulled him to safety
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just in time as a child juan claimed he was molested by an uncle around this time he started having
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delusions one featured an evil spirit that entered juan's room at night crawled into his
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bed and slept next to him when juan spoke of this nightmare he would zone out and stare into
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nothingness at age 12 juan moved to l.a while cannabis helped him cope with his troubled past it took harder drugs to
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keep the delusions at bay juan developed a cocaine and methamphetamine addiction but they only
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fueled his disassociation from reality he spoke of hearing voices and seeing people who weren't there
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in 1999 juan alvarez married a woman named carmelita he raised carmelita's daughter
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and the couple had a son of their own juan enjoyed fatherhood and worked construction jobs to support his family
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but was never able to shake his methamphetamine habit even getting higher when looking after his children
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in 2004 juan badly injured his arm at a work site as it never completely healed he was
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unable to return to the laborious work he relied on he fell into a deep depression as his
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financial concerns mounted family members sent juan money to pay off the bills but his ongoing
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unemployment and drug addiction ensured that he was never financially sound after two failed attempts at
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rehabilitation juan was kicked out of home by carmelita who also filed a restraining order against him to prevent
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him from seeing his children juan resettled in glendale on saturday january 22 2005
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juan phoned carmelita begging to see his children carmelita refused wanting juan to deal
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with his demons first she did allow him to speak to them over the phone before ending the call juan said to
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carmelita thank you for letting me talk to the kids four days later on wednesday january 26
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juan alvarez woke early despite his weak hand he'd secured some work on a construction site
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he was due at the worksite at 7am in pasadena 8 miles from his home juan showered and tied his long black
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hair into a ponytail to keep it off his face before leaving he watered the roses that
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bloomed outside his house he was happy life was looking up and juan was optimistically waiting on the results of
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a drug test the negative result that he expected meant he could see his kids again
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soon by 5 30 a.m juan was on the road in his jeep with plenty of time to spare he headed towards a gas station to fill
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up his car on the way he heard carmelita in the backseat telling him over and over how stupid he
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was she was unrelenting in her taunts juan snapped he filled his tank with gasoline as well
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as two one-gallon plastic jugs he had made his decision juan was going to set his car on fire
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with himself inside one drove around looking for a dark and deserted place carmelita continued to berate him from
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the back seat now joined by a man whom juan presumed to be her lover he stopped briefly at chevy chase park
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the park fit his specifications it was quiet and unlit with the sun not due to rise for another 90 minutes
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yet juan was not satisfied and continued along chevy chase drive then turned into
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a side street where he parked directly under a straight line he emptied one gallon of gasoline over
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his head and body he poured the rest all over the exterior and interior of his car
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with all the windows and doors closed juan sat back into the driver's seat he felt dizzy and nauseous from the
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fumes hands shaking he held up a lighter again juan changed his mind burning alive would be a terrible way to
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die he drove back up to chevy chase drive and then at the railway crossing entered
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the restricted area of the tracks and drove parallel to the railroad line for about 50 yards
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juan then parked his car over the tracks over the next 15 minutes he looked at photographs of his two children and came
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to the realization that he was making a huge mistake he tried backing up his jeep but it
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wouldn't budge it was stuck on the track juan climbed out of his car and attempted to push it off but to no
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avail he placed a large rock under a rear wheel to leverage the vehicle upwards and forwards
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pressing his foot to the gas pedal the wheel spun in place and the car didn't budge
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as he sat defeated in the front seat juan heard the sound of a blaring horn approaching
00:20:28
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you support case file to continue to deliver quality content [Music] at 5 59 a.m edward branch was waiting in
00:23:31
his car the barrier along the chevy chase drive level crossing had just lowered in
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anticipation of a passing train as edward waited he noticed a jeep on the tracks nearby
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a double-decker train was barreling towards it it made contact with the car resulting in a fiery crash
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[Music] moments later a second train traveling in the opposite direction smashed into
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the carnage a man suddenly appeared from the side of the tracks near where the jeep had been
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parked he then headed towards the destruction juan alvarez ran to the wreckage and
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approached a passenger who'd escaped to metrolink 100 with only minor injuries juan asked him what had happened
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he was told that the train had crashed and people had died one exclaimed oh no and fell to the ground
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he was asked if he had anything to do with the collision juan gave no response instead
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he got up and moved onwards as he walked amongst the injured and dying juan held on to a large eagle
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feather that he carried with him everywhere he believed that the eagle was an honored animal that guided the souls of
00:25:04
the dead to god by having the feather with him at that moment juan felt he was assisting the
00:25:12
dying passengers to enter heaven [Music] raymunda basana was going about her typical morning in glendale when at 6 15
00:25:25
a.m juan alvarez entered her home raymunda was one's landlady and the pair had a good relationship
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in lieu of paying monetary rent juan worked as a maintenance man for raymunda that day
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raymonda was disturbed to find one in her home with his arms and chest covered in blood
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clutched tightly in his hand was a pair of bloodied scissors juan took raymunda's phone
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he phoned his wife speaking in a garbled mixture of spanish and english he then called a cousin who had
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supported him throughout his time in la he left him a voicemail i didn't mean this
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a lot of innocent people died i don't deserve to live i apologize for everything please pray
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for me please as he made the calls juan stabbed himself in the chest with the scissors
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raymunda contacted 9-1-1 juan told first responders that he had quote hurt those people
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i jumped in front of the train officers arrived at the hospital while juan alvarez was undergoing treatment
00:26:55
for his self-inflicted non-life-threatening stab wounds juan asked how the people on the trains
00:27:03
were before explaining what he had done he added i want life or death row i deserve it
00:27:15
juan was arrested and held in custody described as distraught and remorseful but cooperative he was charged with one
00:27:24
count of arson one count of train wrecking with intent to cause derailment and 11 counts of first-degree murder
00:27:32
with special circumstances the special circumstances arose due to there being multiple victims and so if
00:27:42
found guilty juan faced the death penalty carmelita visited her husband while he
00:27:50
was in custody she told the washington post about the moment he decided not to end his own
00:27:57
life quote he was there and out of nowhere he saw a light not the light from the train
00:28:07
he said he felt like there was a presence from god telling him to get away the restraining order that carmelita had
00:28:17
previously placed on juan was also in part to his mental state his behavior had increasingly become
00:28:25
erratic and threatening lately he exhibited paranoia and obsessive jealousy and accused her of cheating on
00:28:33
him with his cousin neighbors co-workers and strangers he suspected carmelita recorded him with
00:28:41
hidden cameras in his bedroom he also believed she was making pornography videos with other people
00:28:51
juan purchased a firearm and repeatedly threatened carmelita's lovers all of whom were figments of his
00:28:58
imagination he even considered killing carmelita juan was opposed to seeking psychiatric
00:29:08
help so carmelita sought a restraining order to protect herself and to their children
00:29:15
this caused juan's lifelong suicidal inclination to re-emerge he had told others of his intentions to
00:29:23
end his life in preparation for the trial juan alvarez was interviewed by a number of
00:29:33
psychiatrists one diagnosed him with a psychotic mood disorder and attributed juan's impulsive
00:29:41
behavior and irritability to this disorder another psychiatrist was of the opinion
00:29:47
that juan showed a logical goal-oriented behavior on the day of the train crash others theorised that juan's desire to
00:29:57
end his own life was the result of a depressing come down off a methamphetamine high
00:30:03
which he admitted to using prior to the train crash on the morning of the train crash juan
00:30:11
recalled carmelita belittling him from the back seat of his jeep as he drove around searching for the ideal place to
00:30:18
take his life at one point she was joined by a man one identified as one of her lovers
00:30:27
however there were no others in the vehicle at the time they were delusions during this bickering
00:30:36
juan contemplated visiting carmelita at work and killing her but it was too early for her to be there
00:30:45
even though one knew that carmelita couldn't be in two places at once he was still convinced she was sitting behind
00:30:53
him with another man he heard the pair remarking look at how stupid he is he can't even
00:31:01
see us their words angered one and his attention turned to the railway tracks he believed if he took his life there it
00:31:12
would get carmelita's attention and make her feel bad juan maintained that he didn't
00:31:19
realize the passenger train would approach he expected a cargo train that would smash through his car and continue along
00:31:28
without derailing he claimed he wasn't thinking about the consequences of his actions including
00:31:35
that others could be harmed or killed by his plan he knew of an instance wherein a train
00:31:42
collided with a taxi the taxi's occupants were killed but no one on the train was harmed
00:31:51
juan alvarez's trial began in late april 2008 his defense team insisted that juan
00:31:59
never intended for anyone to be hurt by his actions he wanted to take his own life but
00:32:07
changed his mind at the last moment this desire had lingered since childhood prompted by physical and sexual abuse
00:32:16
drug dependency untreated mental health issues and a failing marriage juan offered the families of his victims
00:32:25
an apology in court maintaining that he never intended to hurt their loved ones in contrast the prosecution argued that
00:32:35
juan alvarez had no intention of taking his own life rather he wanted to create a grand
00:32:43
spectacle that would get his wife's attention and pity so she would take him back
00:32:50
there were elements about one story that didn't add up to evidence at the scene juan claimed that he had poured gasoline
00:32:59
on himself and his vehicle with the initial intention to set himself a light his clothing from that day tested
00:33:08
positive for traces of gasoline but an amount that arsene investigators attributed to splashback when pouring it
00:33:16
all over his vehicle not directly over himself witnesses who had interacted with juan
00:33:24
immediately after the crash noted that he didn't smell of gasoline doctors who had treated him didn't
00:33:33
recall juan's eyes or skin as being red inflamed or irritated tell-tale science of prolonged exposure
00:33:41
to gasoline the prosecution insisted that juan didn't make the bona fide attempt to
00:33:49
take his own life as he alleged furthermore an expert witness revealed that fire damage on the jeep's parking
00:33:59
brake assembly indicated that it was activated at the time of impact this meant the car was in park which
00:34:07
contradicted juan's claims that he had made considerable effort to try and move the jeep to avoid a collision
00:34:16
witnesses reported that only the car's passenger door was open at the time it was demolished
00:34:22
which contradicted juan's claims that he had thrown himself from the driver's side seconds before impact
00:34:30
additionally the vehicle's headlights were off indicating juan didn't intend for it to be seen until it was too late
00:34:41
there was no debate that the gasoline juan had poured over his jeep was a contributing factor in starting the
00:34:47
blaze that consumed metrolink 100's front passenger carriage [Music] the arson count was crucial to juwan's
00:34:56
case the felony statute on arson in california meant that if juan was found guilty of causing the fire he was to be
00:35:06
held liable for the murders even if he didn't intend to kill anyone even the defense's expert witness agreed
00:35:15
with most of the prosecution's findings they conceded that if a person poured gasoline over their vehicle and waited
00:35:24
for a train to collide with it then they probably intended for a fire to start using the train as an ignition source
00:35:37
after three hours of deliberation the jury found juan alvarez guilty of one count of arson and of all 11 counts of
00:35:47
first-degree murder with special circumstances they found him not guilty of train
00:35:53
wrecking unsatisfied that he intended to derail the train nevertheless the guilty verdict ensured
00:36:02
one would face a possible death sentence in talking to the daily news three members of the jury said they likely
00:36:12
would not have convicted juan alvarez of murder had it not been for the felony statute on arson
00:36:19
the jury foreman said he was reckless he's a dangerous man but i don't think he had any intention
00:36:30
the week prior to the verdict the jury inspected four of the train cars damaged in the collision
00:36:38
rather than implicate juan alvarez the wreckage had the opposite effect the jury foreman told the daily news
00:36:47
that seeing the wreckage reaffirmed his belief that juan did not expect anyone to get injured quote
00:36:55
seeing how big those trains were and how heavy they were i really don't think a reasonable person would expect a train
00:37:02
to derail by parking their car on the tracks in the weeks following the trial the
00:37:11
jury opted to remove the death penalty as a possible sentence reasoning that juan alvarez never
00:37:18
intended to kill juan's wife and cousin were featured in the la times pleading for leniency
00:37:26
citing that he belonged in a mental institution not on death row they regretted not getting juan the
00:37:34
psychiatric help he needed saying they believed the catastrophe could have been avoided if they had
00:37:42
[Music] the superior court judge was far more skeptical of juan alvarez he didn't believe that juan was unaware
00:37:53
that his actions would have dire consequences for others he told alvarez that the phone message
00:38:01
he left for his cousin following the crash seemed set up like somebody playing a part
00:38:07
and that it sounded like a very bad actor trying to convince the person that he really feels as he
00:38:15
says he does and it doesn't ring true the judge told juan i don't believe for a minute you
00:38:24
intended to kill yourself or harm yourself in any way i think you were setting up a scenario
00:38:31
so you could go back to your family if there was a sentence known as forever in state prison i would give it to you
00:38:40
what i'm going to do is almost the equivalent and i agree that these 11 people who
00:38:47
died and their families deserve a maximum sentence in this case juan was given 11 consecutive life
00:38:58
sentences it was the maximum sentence that could be awarded given that the death penalty
00:39:04
had been taken off the table [Music] juan alvarez appealed his conviction in 2012
00:39:11
arguing in part that the prosecution failed to prove a connection between the arson he committed and the deaths of the
00:39:19
victims his appeal failed a number of the survivors of the glendale train crash filed a civil
00:39:31
lawsuit against metrolink claiming that the tragedy could have been avoided had the engineer of metrolink 100 bruce grey
00:39:41
followed protocol during the trial bruce testified that in the seconds before the crash he saw what
00:39:50
appeared to be a reflection coming from a vehicle about three quarters of a mile
00:39:54
ahead bruce said he became fixated on the area and when he saw an outline of the jeep
00:40:02
he hit the train's emergency brakes however the black box taken from the train wreckage revealed that the service
00:40:11
brakes had only been applied initially with a few critical seconds passing before the emergency brakes were
00:40:18
activated the attorney representing the victims argued that had bruce grey applied the
00:40:26
breaks when he said he had at trial the crash could have been avoided metrolink settled the lawsuit with a 39
00:40:35
million dollar combined payout following the glendale train crash metrolink's fleet underwent changes with
00:40:46
the spokesman claiming that it was now the safest commuter rail line in the country
00:40:52
their trains were fitted out with crash energy management technology that included bumpers designed to absorb the
00:40:59
lion's share of energy from a collision 11 unrelated fates were sealed when juan
00:41:08
alvarez abandoned his jeep on the ventura line near glendale train station on january 26 2005.
00:41:18
manuel alcala aged 51 julia bennett aged 44 alfonso caballero aged 62 elizabeth hill aged 65
00:41:31
scott mccown aged 42. william perrin aged 53 james tartino aged 47 and don wiley aged
00:41:41
58 lost their lives aboard metrolink 100. leonard romero aged 53 henry kalinski aged 39 and the trains engineer thomas
00:41:55
ormerston aged 58 died on metrolink 901 thomas had worked on trains since 1972 his job was often a topic of
00:42:09
conversation whenever he dropped his car off to his mechanic and friend walter during one visit the pair spoke of the
00:42:18
possibility of a train crash occurring after reading about similar incidents in the papers
00:42:25
walter asked thomas if he was worried about such things no it's okay thomas responded
00:42:33
accidents will happen [Music] [Music] in 2016 case file covered the disappearance of 22 year old shano
00:43:05
callahan all you can see is headlights of a car flashing it's blatantly obvious that she got in that car whoever had
00:43:12
taken her had done it for criminal purposes now hear firsthand from loved ones and
00:43:18
lead investigator steve fulcher as we unravel how the case unfolded and the minefield of legal and ethical dilemmas
00:43:26
encountered along the way therefore there's only one way to do this it was at that point that steve
00:43:32
fortune decided to take an extraordinary gamble her life is my responsibility all
00:43:38
i could do was plead with him for her life when a killer confesses do you listen he said you and i should
00:43:46
have a chat the fact of his guilt was unequivocal but what if one interpretation of the
00:43:53
law says you shouldn't accept the confession when he got taken to swindon he got a
00:43:59
lawyer all that conversation those vital confessions disappeared of no value what they were doing what
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were they doing what happens to the cop who believes he's making the right choice the whole reason we were there
00:44:16
was losing sight what was wrong in getting a confession from a murderer it obviously rehearsed
00:44:23
this line that you ended with which was it was a pleasure to ruin your career you corrupt bastard if it had been your
00:44:30
loved one steve bulger was looking for what would you have wanted him to do to crucify somebody
00:44:38
for trying his best to get closure for two families doesn't make a lot of sense case file presents the detective's
00:44:46
dilemma available for free on march 14 only on spotify