Ojai man convicted of killing Oak View teenager agrees to bypass chance at parole

An Ojai man convicted of killing a 14-year-old Oak View girl in 1998 agreed Thursday to bypass a chance at being released and instead wait five years for another parole hearing.

At the beginning of a virtual hearing before a panel of the California Board of Parole Hearings, David Ramiro Alvarez, 46, agreed to be denied parole and wait for another chance at release. Patricia Cassady, a parole board commissioner, said the decision means Alvarez acknowledged he isn’t ready for parole.

“Basically, he’s saying I don’t want to go to the hearing today because I know I’m not going to be suitable,” Cassady said.

Kali Manley of Oak View disappeared on Dec. 20, 1998, after leaving a sleepover at a friend’s home late at night in the Ojai area. She drove away to a mobile home with Alvarez and another man never to return home.

For the next week, as many as 1,000 people day hiked into the canyons and hills of the Ojai Valley looking for the teen in one of the largest searches ever in Ventura County. The efforts continued until the day after Christmas when Alvarez led authorities to the girl’s bruised naked body, left in a 6-foot-wide drainage pipe in the mountains 30 miles north of Ojai.

Alvarez, 22, at the time of the crime, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder after the California Attorney General’s Office and Manley’s parents agreed to drop attempted rape charges and eliminate the chance of a life sentence without parole.

He was sentenced to 25 years to life and became eligible for parole last month. Nearly 500 people, many of them from Ventura County, submitted letters to the parole board regarding the hearing.

Kali's parents, Chuck and Holly Manley of Oak View, participated in the online hearing as did Kali’s sister, Chelsea Manley. They opted not to make statements, saying they would wait for the hearing in five years.

Afterward, Chuck Manley said Alvarez's decision not to immediately ask the two-person panel for parole came as a surprise.

"It's a good outcome. David Alvarez will remain in prison trying to improve himself," he said. "We will be prepared in five years to do this again."

He also repeated his family's desire that Alvarez never be granted parole.

Lauren Malan, Ventura County senior deputy district attorney, spoke at the hearing on how hard it is for the Manleys to endure parole proceedings and to see the man who killed their daughter. Chuck Manley said that pain is real.

"I’d rather get five root canals than go to one of these things," he said. "We’ve accepted it. It’s part of the burden that we carry.“

The 1998 killing was prosecuted by the state attorney general’s office after Ventura County District Attorney Mike Bradbury withdrew because of conflict-of-interest concerns stemming from a friendship with Alvarez’s parents. Deputy Attorney General Seth McCutcheon argued Thursday another parole hearing should not be held for 10 years, citing the “callousness and cold-blooded” nature of the murder.

Read more:Parole hearing nears in 1998 Ojai Valley murder of teen who loved butterflies

Alvarez “has minimized and refused to take full account of his role,” McCutcheon said. He also said Alvarez has been disciplined for violence in prison and has a history of substance abuse.

Alvarez participated in the hearing from Calipatria State Prison, about 140 miles east of San Diego. He said he had drug issues, saying his drug of choice before his incarceration was speed and alcohol. In prison, he said, he switched to heroin and “died twice” only to be brought back to life during an overdose.

Alvarez said he got sober in April 2020 and is still in recovery.

“Whatever the doctor tells me to do, I’m going to do,” he said.

Alvarez’s attorney, Diane Letarte, initially asked for another parole hearing to be held in three years. The panel said that was not enough and recommended five years, which was also agreed to by Alvarez. He can also ask for an earlier hearing but that request can be denied.

Letarte asked the panel for recommendations on how Alvarez can improve his chances of parole in five years. Cassady said he needed to address domestic violence issues and also a history of sexual interest in minors. She noted a statement of remorse from Alvarez made no mention of that interest.

"Don’t skip out of the sex offender treatment," she said.

The parole decision made Thursday is tentative and becomes official in 120 days.

Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com or 805-437-0255.

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Tom Kisken covers health care and other news for the Ventura County Star. Reach him at tom.kisken@vcstar.com or 805-437-0255.

This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Man convicted of killing California teen bypasses parole