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Cynthia Alvarez and her boyfriend, Giovanni Gallardo, were responsible for the double murders of Jose Lara and Gloria Villalta. It was on October 12, 2011, when the teenagers murdered the couple in their mobile home.
As per Cynthia Alvarez, her stepfather, Lara was se*ually abusive to her, which became the prime motive behind the killing. After the murder, both of their bodies were loaded into Gloria's Jeep and taken to a Long Beach vacant lot. Though Lara's body was buried there, Gloria's body was left to decompose in the car backseat.
The complete investigation behind the murders of Jose Lara and Gloria Villalta is documented in Snapped Season 26 Episode 8. The episode titled Cynthia Alvarez was first released on October 20, 2019.
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5 key details about Cynthia Alvarez's crimes
1) Cynthia Alvarez had a difficult childhood and suffered from learning disabilities
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Cynthia Alvarez grew up in a mobile home in Compton, California, with very limited resources. After her father was sent to Honduras, she was raised by her stepfather, Jose Lara, and mother, Gloria Villalta.
However, since childhood, Cynthia has suffered from learning disabilities. As a result, she was enrolled in special education classes while at school. As reported by the Los Angeles Times, similar to Cynthia, Giovanni Gallardo also had learning disabilities.
Reportedly, he was suffering from cognitive disabilities and was enrolled in a special education program. This is when he met Cynthia for the first time, and the two started dating.
2) Cynthia Alvarez reported that her father was se*ually abusive to her, which became the motive for murder
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, the Snapped subject Cynthia was suffering from diabetes and was partially blind. Reportedly, she had to do all the household work, and her mother, Gloria, would beat her with a belt, even for the smallest mistakes.
Cynthia reported that her stepfather, Jose Lara, was sexually abusive to her and would often touch her inappropriately. Reportedly, Cynthia was ra*ed by Lara during 2007 or 2008.
As reported by Oxygen, Cynthia's parents disapproved of her relationship when they discovered Giovanni Gallardo. Lara threatened him, while Gloria told Cynthia to break up. This is when Cynthia Alvarez and Gallardo planned their murder in 2011.
3) Jose Lara and Gloria Villalta were beaten and stabbed to death
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, on the afternoon of October 12, 2011, Giovanni arrived at Cynthia's mobile home with a murder kit, which included a mask, a baseball bat, and rubbing alcohol.
Reportedly, Cynthia Alvarez communicated with Gallardo with hand signs and writing notes in a spiral notebook. As per Cynthia, she went outside the house while Gallardo came inside and killed Gloria. Reportedly, the body of Gloria was soon dragged to the bedroom and bound with tape.
As reported by the Los Angeles Times, Giovanni Gallardo then waited for Lara to arrive. As Cynthia's stepfather, Jose Lara, entered the house from the front door, he was smashed with the baseball bat on the face twice.
As Lara started to fight back, Cynthia picked up the baseball bat and hit him multiple times on the lower body. She then handed out a knife to Gallardo, which he used to stab Lara multiple times.
4) The decomposing body of Gloria Villalta was discovered by a Jogger
As reported by Oxygen, after killing both of her parents, Cynthia Alvarez, with Gallardo's help, loaded the bodies into Gloria's Jeep Cherokee. The duo then drove the car to Long Beach and buried Lara's body in a vacant lot.
Since there was not enough space, Gloria's body was kept in the backseat, and drove back to the trailer home. For the next several days, both Cynthia Alvarez sold most of their belongings, including Gloria's jewelry and Lara's car parts.
The body was left to decompose in the car backseat and was eventually buried in a vacant lot in Norwalk, California. As reported by Oxygen, it was on October 15, 2011, when the decomposed body of Gloria Villalta was discovered by a jogger. Soon, Lara's boss also reported her to the police when he didn't show up for work.
Soon, the Los Angeles Sheriff's Department started the investigation into the disappearances. When they arrived at Cynthia Alvarez's trailer home, it was found ransacked completely. Authorities initially predicted it to be a case of burglary, but they found none of the valuables missing, as reported by Oxygen.
5) Cynthia Alvarez and Giovanni Gallardo were sentenced to life in prison
As reported by Oxygen, during the investigation of the trailer home, authorities discovered the spiral notebook that Cynthia used to communicate with Giovanni. When the news about Jose Lara and Gloria Villalta began to spread, Giovanni's mother brought her son and Cynthia to the authorities.
During interrogation, Cynthia Alvarez told the officers all the details of the events. When Giovanni was interrogated, he confessed to committing the murders and added that Cynthia was equally responsible.
As reported by CBS News, it was on October 21, 2011, when Cynthia Alvarez and Giovanni Gallardo were charged with two counts of murder. It was in January 2014, when both of them were sentenced to a lifetime behind bars. Gallardo has no possibility of parole, while Cynthia will be eligible for parole after serving 52 years in prison.
Check out our other articles to learn more details about other cases on Snapped.
