Mother's boyfriend arrested after hint of murder in Lancaster Boy's death

Authorities have arrested the boyfriend of a 10-year-old Lancaster boyfriend on suspicion of murder Wednesday after being suspected of physical and badual abuse, NBC4 learned.

Kareem Leiva, 32, who has been identified as the father-in-law of Los Angeles County, was informed that he would be placed in custody during an interview with homicide detectives. of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department. Sierra Highway.

At the end of the interview, Leiva dropped his shirt collar to reveal a one-day hack on his neck, an injury that he told investigators himself inflicted as part of A suicide attempt, according to police sources.

NBC4 was outside while paramedics were called to look after Leiva, who had been taken by ambulance to the hospital with a sheriff escort.

"The homicide investigators interviewed Kareem Leiva earlier today at Lancaster Station and he was arrested for the murder of Anthony Avalos," said a sheriff spokesman.

Ten-year-old Anthony Avalos was found unresponsive at the family's apartment when the Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies responded to the boy's mother's June 9 call. The investigators said that they had been told that the boy had been injured.

He died in the hospital on Thursday morning, and the investigators described the death at that time as "suspicious".

The coroner's office has placed a security guard on the case, according to the sheriff's information bureau.

The arrest comes after it was revealed earlier this week that Anthony could have gone out gay in recent weeks, and authorities are investigating whether homophobia played a role in his death, according to the Department of Child and Family Services of Los Angeles County. In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, the deputy director of the agency said that Anthony Avalos "said he loved the boys," but Nichols refused to provide more details, including including those that the boy said and when.

The ministry confirmed the report to NBC4 on Tuesday morning.

Anthony's aunt, Maria Barron, told The Times that it would have taken a lot of courage for Anthony to announce that he was gay at home and "just reinforces the courage of the day." ; Anthony ". The aunt said that she started alerting the DCFS in 2015, when she noticed bruises and other injuries.

Nichols said that the criminal investigation is ongoing.

Anthony, has been the subject of allegations of serious abuse, including not being fed, to have been locked up and to suffer physical and badual abuse, said the DCFS to NBC4.

Calling death a "senseless killing", a Los Angeles County supervisor requested a review of all county contacts with the boy's family, seeking an answer to why he was not removed from his home despite repeated complaints to the Department of Child and Family Services. that he was being abused. The treatment review of the case will involve the Office of Child Protection, law enforcement and the Ministry of Children and Family Services. The group will evaluate the staffing, supervision and collaboration, or lack of collaboration, between social workers and law enforcement officers in cases of child abuse and neglect .

The Office of Child Protection was created to transform the child protection system in response to the 2013 murder of Gabriel Fernandez, 8, in Palmdale. Gabriel was long tortured and eventually beaten to death by his mother's boyfriend despite numerous previous reports of abuse at DCFS.

Prosecutors said that Gabriel's mother's boyfriend became enraged because he thought the kid was gay. Gabriel's mother was sentenced earlier this year to life without parole and her boyfriend was sentenced to death.

The head of the Department of Child and Family Services said that the agency will work with law enforcement to determine what led to Anthony's death.

"In each of these cases, what we do is dive into the case, try to understand as best as possible what goes on there," said DCFS director Bobby Cagle. "What kind of services were provided, if they were adequate, if we had done something different?"