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LOS ANGELES – The boyfriend of a Southern California woman whose 10-year-old son died last week in suspicious circumstances – following a dozen cases of alleged child abuse for several years – was arrested on Wednesday suspected of murder. the officials said.
Kareem Leiva, 32, was arrested in the death of Anthony Avalos after an interview with Sheriff's detectives on Wednesday. The arrest took place a day after County Child Protection officials revealed that the boy had previously claimed to have been beaten, locked up and not fed.
The sheriff's deputies were called to a home in Lancaster, in the high Antelope Valley desert north of Los Angeles, on June 20 after Anthony's mother called 911 to report that he had fallen in the stairs. The deputies found him unconscious at home and he died at the hospital the next day.
The homicide detectives felt that Anthony's death was "suspicious" and the Los Angeles County Department of Child and Family Services said that there were signs of "physical violence, including signs of abuse and malnutrition".
The boy's mother, Heather Barron, and Leiva – her boyfriend and the father of some of her other children – have both been interrogated by homicide detectives and Leiva was arrested on Wednesday afternoon. The boy's mother has not been arrested and is not the subject of any criminal charges.
"During their interview, the suspect Leiva made statements that led the detectives to stop him," said Los Angeles County Sheriff Jim McDonnell. He refused to elaborate.
McDonnell said the boy's injury scope had been "grossly exaggerated" by child protection officials and told reporters that the detectives had not found any cigarette burns on Anthony's body. He refused to provide specific details about the boy's injuries until an autopsy was finalized.
After Anthony's death, child protection officials abducted another eight children – between 11 months and 12 years old – from the home. They are supported by county child welfare workers, officials said.
The sheriff's deputies have responded to the boy's home repeatedly in recent years – most recently in April 2016 – and there were a number of suspected child abuse cases, but no arrests "Never happened," said McDonnell.
Investigators examine each of these cases to determine if the appropriate protocol has been followed, he said.
Child protection officials said Anthony was taken from his home for several months while some of the cases of abuse were corroborated. He was fired after family members received home counseling, the agency said.
The agency said that she had confirmed two allegations of badual abuse while Anthony was 4, but the case was dismissed when it was determined that his mother was properly occupied with him.
Anthony's last referral was in April 2016 alleging general negligence. He was questioned and the allegations were found to be unsubstantiated or inconclusive, officials said.
During Wednesday's interview, the detectives noticed that Leiva had had an anterior injury – a laceration on the chest that they thought was self-inflicted – and needed medical attention. He remained hospitalized Wednesday night and is expected to be released on $ 2 million bail once he is medically cleared, the sheriff said.
It was not immediately clear whether Leiva had a lawyer who could comment on his behalf.
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Follow Michael Balsamo on Twitter at www.twitter.com/MikeBalsamo1.
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