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Anthony Avalos, 10, was tortured and murdered in June, authorities said. His mother and boyfriend could face the death penalty for their alleged roles in his death.
(Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department)
A Californian woman and her boyfriend may face capital punishment during the June killing of her 10-year-old son, allegedly flogged, slaughtered and forced to kneel on rice, among other allegations of torture, according to reports released Wednesday.
Heather Barron, 29, and Kareem Leiva, 32, of Lancaster, have pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges, including torture, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Anthony passed away on June 21st. In the days leading up to his death, Barron and Leiva allegedly poured hot sauce on the boy's face, shot him and dropped him on the head after hanging him off. upside down, the Times reported, citing the District Assistant. The request of the lawyer Jonathan Hatami.
"At one point, Anthony could no longer walk, was unconscious lying on the floor of his room for hours, was not receiving medical attention and could not eat alone," according to Hatami's motion, which seeks to establish a long-standing pattern of child abuse, according to a Times report in July.
The criminal complaint has been amended and an "allegation of special circumstances" has been added to Barron and Leiva so that the couple is eligible for the death penalty, said the LA County Attorney's Office. The killing of Anthony was "intentional and involved torture," according to the complaint.
On Wednesday, at the court hearing, Barron "stomped" all the time, while Leiva stared at the floor, the Times reported. The two accused appeared "stoic and slaughtered," reported Tribune Media.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles County Supervisor said the charges gave "a clearer picture of the senseless and atrocious torture and murder of an innocent child by his own mother and boyfriend," according to the Times.
The L.A County Child and Family Services Department received information that the boy was being abused, but allowed him to stay home with his mother and boyfriend, according to the report.
The agency has investigated 88 complaints of abuse dating back to 2013, according to a lawyer representing the boy's relatives, the Times reported. The lawyer stated that two of the 15 motivated complaints concerned sexual abuse.
Seven children, aged 11 months to 12 years, were removed from the home after Anthony's death, the county sheriff's department said, according to Tribune Media.
The prosecutor said Leiva had hit Anthony's younger brother with enough force that the boy needed medical attention and staples to close a head wound, the Times reported. Leami hit at least three other siblings with a hose, threw them dirty diapers and forced them to squat against a wall for long periods of time, Hatami wrote.
"DCFS had the opportunity to save [Anthony and his siblings] and they chose to look on the other side. … they have to change the way they do things. "
"As long as she's not at liberty," Heather's brother David Barron told the Times, with tears in his eyes.
He then shouted, "We want a full investigation!" Speaking of the DCFS and social workers who handled Anthony's case.
"DCFS had the opportunity to save [Anthony and his siblings] and they chose to look on the other side. … they have to change the way they do things, "said Maria Tribune Media, David's wife, while she seemed to hold back her tears.
"How many children still need to die?" Said his wife, Maria. "Too much is too much!"
The two accused must appear in court for a hearing on November 27.
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