A mother accused of murder and torture after the death of a Lancaster boy

A week after the death of a 10-year-old Lancaster boy following a suspicious fall of the family, the boy's mother and boyfriend were charged with murder and torture on Friday, authorities said .

Heather Barron was arrested on suspicion of murder and torture on Friday, according to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department and the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office. The arrest comes a day after Kareem Leiva, 32, was jailed. Leiva, was arrested Wednesday, but was taken to hospital after suffering self-inflicted cuts to the throat.

Barron was held on bail of $ 2 million, just like Leiva, according to the inmate files.

The family of Anthony Avalos wore shirts with his effigy, as if the boy was floating in paradise, outside the Antelope Valley branch of the Los Angeles County Superior Court.

"We want to keep the focus on Anthony ", David Barron, brother of the boy's mother, said.

Barron faced an additional charge of child abuse, while Leiva was facing another assault on a child causing death. Barron appeared in court Friday afternoon to be brought to justice, but was postponed until Monday when she and Leiva would make their demands. At her first appearance, she shook her head and seemed to be on the verge of tears.

When convicted, Barron faces 22 years in prison for life. Leiva faces 32 years in prison for life. The judge issued a protection order for Barron's other children.

Avalos died Thursday morning after paramedics responded to his family's apartment. He would have fallen, and when the paramedics arrived, he would not answer. He died the next day at the hospital. After his death, the authorities called the incident and his death suspicious.

Prosecutors allege that Avalos was tortured by his mother and boyfriend in the days leading up to his death.

Anthony's death led the Los Angeles County Supervisory Board to request a complete review of the reasons why the Lancaster boy was not removed from his family home despite several reports of Abuse in the Department of Child and Family Services. Eight children who lived at home or were associated with the family were abducted and placed in DCFS custody, according to Sheriff Jim McDonnell.

Sheriff Captain Christopher Bergner said that Leiva lived at home from time to time.

On Tuesday, Supervisory Board approved a motion from supervisor Kathryn Barger requesting a full review of the reasons why Anthony was not removed from his home. family home, despite a dozen reports to the Ministry of Child and Family Services between 2013 and 2016, including a substantiated allegation of sexual assault by a grandparent when the boy was 4 years old [19659017] "All agencies are working tirelessly At the bottom of what has happened, every day brings new updates and information about Anthony's senseless death," according to a statement released by the director of DCFS, Bobby Cagle. "Although we can not comment on an ongoing criminal investigation, we are committed to cooperating with our law enforcement partners and I reiterate my deep commitment to delivering justice on behalf of this innocent child. by this tragedy. "

Barger and other county officials have repeatedly said that they would wait for all the facts before drawing conclusions on exactly what happened to the boy." However, Barger said called a "senseless killing", explaining that "we have no conclusion, but there is no other explanation."

Barger noted that an 8-year-old boy from Palmdale was beaten to death in 2013 by his mother's boyfriend, despite several calls to DCFS for several years.The boyfriend, who would have hated Gabriel because he thought he was gay, was sentenced to death for this crime and Gabriel's mother was sentenced to life imprisonment with no possibility of parole Four DCFS officials await trial on criminal charges arising from Gabriel's death

Another potential parallel was the fact that homophobia was could contribute to the abuse of both boys.

Anthony Cagle told City News Service that Anthony had said that he had been killed. he loved boys and girls. girls "and that the context of the boy's comment was not entirely clear. Bergner said at the press conference that "homophobia" did not appear in our survey as a motivation at this time, "he said.

An earlier statement issued by Cagle exposing the details of the case indicated that Anthony had been severely beaten. malnourished when paramedics arrived last Wednesday in response to his mother's 911 call

The first call to DCFS was in February 2013 alleges sexual abuse of Anthony then 4 years old by a grandparent not living at home. The allegation was corroborated and the boy underwent a medical examination and was referred for services. Following a second appeal in March 2013, repeating the same allegation, the case was closed when the social workers determined that the mother was "safe", according to Cagle's statement.

The other 10 reports concerned allegations of sexual, emotional and physical abuse. abuse, as well as general negligence, said Cagle. Some have been corroborated, some unfounded.

"In private interviews, Anthony leaked details consistent with media reports that he was beaten, locked up and not fed," the statement said.