SAN MARCOS, Calif. (KGTV) — A 33-year-old tenant is facing murder and arson charges after allegedly setting the house he lived in on fire in San Marcos late Saturday night, where the homeowners and their dog were found dead.
Luis Alvarado is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and arson. He is being held without bond at the San Diego Central Jail and is scheduled to be arraigned Thursday afternoon at the North County Superior Court in Vista.
First responders were called to the home on Lacebark Street late Saturday night. As they attacked the flames, San Marcos firefighters found two people dead inside.
The San Diego County Sheriff's Office identified the victims as 73-year-old, Michael Austin and his wife, 72-year-old Kathryn Austin.
"They were a wonderful couple, you know, been together for, I don't even know how many years, you know, 30, 40 years," Tork said.
Tork said the couple, who raised six children, rented out spare bedrooms in their home.
"Not only the extra income, but bringing guys that, you know, he had kind of a mentor quality to him," Tork said. "What a great person he was. Anybody that came in contact with him is probably going to say the same thing — that he was adored and loved and kind and that this community lost a very important person."
However, Tork said he was aware of recent problems at the house.
"He had a couple of roommates renting separate rooms, and they got into an altercation, and he broke that up. Then there might have been some other altercations that happened after that, you know, so he had had to ask the tenant to move out," Tork said.
That tenant was Alvarado. Lt. Juan Marquez with the San Diego Sheriff's Homicide Unit said Alvarado was still living at the home at the time of the fire.
"I couldn't believe it was real, you know. How can you even wrap your mind around something like that, you know. It's just, it's just horrific," Tork said.
Court records show Alvarado already had two pending criminal cases — one from Oceanside in October 2024, in which he faced a misdemeanor charge of exhibiting a deadly weapon with a firearm, and another from January 2025, in which he faced another misdemeanor charge of threatening/annoying/repeated electronic communications.
A memorial now grows outside the burnt home on Lacebark Street. Tork shared one of the last text messages he received from his friend, which read: "Thank you for being my friend. Questionable life choice, but I appreciate it."
As the criminal case makes its way through the legal system, Tork wants people to remember the way his friend lived his life.
"It's about love, you know, that's what he was, you know, when, when it all boils down to, it's about loving everybody," Tork said.
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