A man was sentenced today to life in state prison without the possibility of parole for murdering his father, stepmother and two half-brothers nearly 20 years ago, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced.

Saulo Alvarado (dob 6/19/82) was convicted last month of four counts of first-degree murder and one count each of forcible lewd act on a child and of lewd act on a child. The special circumstance allegations of multiple murders and lying in wait were found to be true.

Deputy District Attorney Victor Avila of the Major Crimes Division prosecuted case BA439926.

On April 26, 1999, the bodies of Rudolfo Alvarado, 51, his wife, Eva, 36, and their two sons, Renzo, 16, and Victor, 4, were discovered inside the family's Hyde Park apartment. Each family member had been shot with a revolver.

The murder weapon had been placed in Renzo's hand to make it appear that it was a murder-suicide, the prosecutor said.

Alvarado was 16 years old at the time of the murders. He was deported to Guatemala following a 2003 conviction for rape in an unrelated case.

The case was closed for 14 years until a surviving victim came forward with new information that led to the Los Angeles Police Department re-opening the investigation. Alvarado was extradited back to Los Angeles in 2015.

Los Angeles District Attorney / case BA439926 / May 1, 2018