Landscaper Pleads Guilty in Killing of Client, 83

A landscaper pleaded guilty yesterday in the November slaying of an 83-year-old client in Montgomery County, acknowledging in court that he conspired with his cousin to kill the woman to avoid detection in a check-altering scheme.

Jose Alvarado's plea to a charge of murder set the stage for the trial this fall of his cousin, who is accused of forcing his way into the client's home in Wheaton, slamming her head repeatedly into furniture, dousing her with gasoline and setting her on fire.

State medical examiners determined that Lila Meizell breathed smoke into her lungs before she died, prosecutors said, citing the conclusions of the autopsy.

"Ms. Meizell was burned alive," prosecutor Mary Herdman said in Montgomery County Circuit Court yesterday.

The cousin, Ramon Alvarado, 33, has been held in the county jail without bond since his arrest shortly after the homicide. Jose Alvarado's wife, Ana Rodas, pleaded guilty yesterday to a reduced charge.

Seven days before her death, Meizell gave the landscaper a $75 check for work he'd done at her home. Jose Alvarado added two zeros to the check and deposited into his account at Provident Bank. He withdrew $7,500 after the check cleared.

Alvarado told his cousin he was concerned he'd get caught. Ramon Alvarado offered to kill Meizell for $1,200, according to prosecutors.

Yesterday, as the result of an agreement reached with prosecutors, Jose Alvarado pleaded guilty to first-degree murder. The agreement does not require that he cooperate in the case against his cousin. Prosecutors said they would ask that Alvarado be sentenced to life in prison without the chance of parole.

Because of possible immigration violations, Alvarado will probably be sent to El Salvador if he is released from prison. "The immigration authorities have already filed a detainer, which tells me that if he pleads guilty ultimately he will be deported," Judge Paul Weinstein said just before the plea was entered.

Rodas, who was originally charged with first-degree murder, pleaded guilty to accessory after the fact. She faces up to five years in prison and could be deported upon her release, said her attorney, Andy Jezic.