Born in Cuba in 1960, Manuel Machado Alvarez experienced a troubled childhood, including a serious head injury and the loss of his mother at a young age. He emigrated to the United States in 1980 during the Mariel boatlift, initially settling in Virginia before moving to California in late 1981.

On December 27, 1981, Alvarez fatally stabbed 21-year-old Pedro Ramirez in a Hollywood liquor store, claiming it was revenge for a burglary. He was convicted of voluntary manslaughter and sentenced to four years in prison.

After being paroled in 1986, Alvarez committed a series of violent crimes in May 1987, including the rape of a woman named Sandra S., theft of a vehicle, and the stabbing murder of 35-year-old Allen Ray Birkman during a robbery in Sacramento. He was arrested on May 27, 1987, after a high-speed chase in Mississippi.​

Alvarez was convicted on multiple charges, including first-degree murder, rape, robbery, and vehicle theft. He was sentenced to death on September 14, 1989, and remained on death row at San Quentin State Prison until his death from COVID-19 complications on July 3, 2020.