A Montgomery County jury convicted a Silver Spring man of beating an 83-year-old woman, then killing her in a fire to cover up a check fraud scheme.
Thirty-three-year-old Ramon Alvarado is the last of a trio to be convicted in the slaying of Lila Meizell at her home in Wheaton. Alvarado was found guilty of all three charges: murder, conspiracy to commit murder and arson in the first degree.
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He faces life in prison at his sentencing Nov. 23. Alvarado is the cousin of Meizell’s landscaper, Jose Alvarado, 38, who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in June.
Jose Alvarado’s wife, Ana Rodas, 32, pleaded guilty to a felony charge of being an accessory after the fact to murder. Prosecutors said Jose Alvarado altered a $75 check to him from Meizell by adding two zeros to the amount and cashed it for $7,500.
When Jose Alvarado worried that Meizell would notice the theft, Ramon offered to kill her and burn her house down for $1,200.
On the night before Thanksgiving last year, three trio drove to Meizell’s home on Inwood Avenue.
While Meizell was on the phone with a friend, Jose Alvarado knocked on the door and asked for $43 that Meizell owed him from a previous job.
That’s when Ramon Alvarado forced his way inside, prosecutors said.
He grabbed Meizell by the throat and repeatedly slammed her head and body against pieces of furniture. Ramon Alvarado then poured gasoline over her body and lit a match, prosecutors said. In addition to lighting Meizell on fire, he also ignited his own legs and arms.
Meizell had asked her friend to stay on the phone while she wrote the check, telling him she was concerned about her landscaper.
When he lost the connection, the friend had his son call police.
Medical examiners revealed that Meizell was still alive when Ramon Alvarado set her on fire. Meizell died from the fire and smoke inhalation in addition to the beating.
All three of the defendants are illegal immigrants from El Salvador, according to Immigration and Customs Enforcement documents.
