Jesse Alvarez, who is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend’s fiancé in North Park in 2021, was jealous about his ex-girlfriend, prosecutors said in court on Tuesday.
Alvarez, 33, is charged with killing 37-year-old Mario Fierro, a Cathedral Catholic High School teacher, outside Fierro’s home on Feb. 1, 2021. Alvarez planned the killing for weeks, prosecutors allege, waited outside Fierro's home for about an hour until the victim left his residence, then shot him six times at close range.
Cathedral Catholic Teacher Fatally Shot
Fierro died at the scene.
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In previous testimony, Deputy District Attorney Ramona McCarthy told jurors the killing stemmed from an unhealthy obsession with Fierro's fiancé, Amy Gebaro, whom Alvarez had previously dated for more than three years.
Describing Alvarez as "jealous, obsessive, and possessive," the prosecutor said that, following their break-up, Alvarez proceeded to repeatedly contact the woman, despite her telling him she did not want to speak with him or continue the relationship. Due to those unwanted contacts, which included showing up at her home unannounced and using alternate phone numbers and social media accounts to circumvent her attempts to block his communications, she unsuccessfully sought a restraining order.
After a judge declined the restraining order request, Alvarez's attempts to contact her persisted, Deputy DA McCarthy said, including multiple attempts at securing a job at Cathedral Catholic High School and mailing letters to new home addresses that the woman did not share with him.
On Tuesday prosecutors showed video of investigators questioning Alvarez shortly after arresting him. In the video, Alvarez initially denied knowing Gebaro was engaged, denied knowing Ferrio, denied knowing where Ferrio lived, and denied going to his Ferrio's home. Eventually, though, Alvarez admitted he went to Ferrio's house on the morning of the killing.
Alvarez admitted to shooting Fierro, but according to his attorneys, it was in self-defense because he has autism.
The accused killer is expected to take the stand in the upcoming days.
Alvarez faces life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted of the charge first-degree murder and a special-circumstance enhancement of lying in wait.
