Cristian “Cristy” Zugey Alvarez. File photo.

Maria Christina Perez, mother of Wilmington homicide victim Cristy Alvarez, listens to speakers at a March 2012 community meeting about violence as her daughter, Katharine Alvarez, holds photos of her sister. Photo by Robert Casillas/Daily Breeze/SCNG

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Mourners look at a memorial left at the spot where Cristian “Cristy” Zugey Alvarez was found dead in Wilmington in January 2012. Photo by Brad Graverson/Daily Breeze/SCNG

Along L Street in Wilmington, local residents gather at a memorial for Cristian “Cristy” Zugey Alvarez in January 2012. Photo by Brad Graverson/Daily Breeze/SCNG



A transgender prostitute has been found guilty of first-degree murder in the slaying of Cristian “Cristy” Zugey Alvarez, a young mother whose killing shocked the Wilmington community and even sparked false rumors of a serial killer.

Angel Guevarabello, 38, faces 26 years to life in prison for slashing Alvarez’s throat behind train tracks near L Street and Hyatt Avenue on the morning of Jan. 2, 2012.

Jurors returned the verdict in Long Beach courtroom Thursday afternoon after deliberating for several hours.

Sentencing was scheduled for Aug. 10, said Greg Risling, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Alvarez’s family waited years for the trial, delayed by medical issues related to Guevarabello’s transition from male to female. The family has maintained a memorial for Alvarez near where her body was found by a woman walking her dog.

Prosecutors accused Guevarabello of killing Alvarez because the killer was jealous of pretty, “real women” like the victim, saying they both worked as prostitutes in the area.

The trial lasted two weeks and included testimony from a friend who said Guevarabello bragged about harming the victim while making stabbing motions, and a neighbor who heard a woman scream then saw a man at the wheel of a white vehicle driving away.

Although police detectives had no DNA evidence, they found a trail of physical evidence in Guevarabello’s white Daewoo Nubira, seen on security video circling Alvarez’s Ford Expedition after the murder. She was charged one year after the murder.