The Horrific Abuse of Anthony Avalos

Ten-year-old American child Anthony Avalos, who was born on May 4, 2008, was tortured to death after being battered and suffering internal bleeding.

Earlier this month, the mother of Anthony Avalos and her ex-boyfriend were found guilty of murder in the 2018 death of the 10-year-old boy, whose short and tragic life highlighted huge flaws in the county's child welfare system.

Avalos had lately told his mother, Heather Barron, according to Brandon Nichols, the deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, that "he liked boys and girls."

Following Avalos' passing, a number of his relatives disclosed that Barron and her boyfriend, Kareem Leiva, had often shown their rabid homophobia. In front of family members, Barron labeled Avalos a "faggot," and Leiva said that he did not feel secure with homosexuals.

The Abuse of Anthony Avalos

Avalos's autopsy revealed obvious indications of prolonged abuse. His entire body was covered with bruises and burns, and he was severely emaciated. Crystal Diuguid, Avalos's aunt, disclosed to her therapist that Avalos's mother was hitting, starving, and keeping him in a room for hours without access to the bathroom. Six years of age at the time. The therapist reported the abuse by calling a child abuse hotline.

Caseworkers looked into 13 reports of abuse against Avalos between February 2013 and April 2016. When he was four years old, he was sexually abused.

Avalos was tortured over and over in the last few days of his life. He was beaten all over his body, held upside down and dropped on his head, sprayed with hot sauce in his eyes, nose, and mouth, and made to kneel on rice for several hours. If the kids went to the bathroom while they were locked up, Leiva would shove their faces in their own poop.

After the boy's mother called 911 on June 20, 2018, Los Angeles County sheriff's deputies went to the boy's home in the high desert. They were told that he fell and hurt himself.

The next day, he died in a hospital.

Neglect By The Department of Child and Family Services

Between 2013 to 2017, the Los Angeles Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) monitored Anthony's welfare. At least 13 people (including Anthony's teachers, counselors, family, and the police) called the child abuse hotline during that time period to report how Anthony was being abused at home,. The DCFS looked into eight of those calls.

Child protective workers overlooked several signs of severe abuse and repeatedly displayed negligence.

During the five-week trial, several DCFS workers took the stand, but they didn't explain why they didn't do more to make sure Anthony was safe. A recording played at the trial showed that one DCFS worker could be heard laughing and making jokes while hearing about Anthony's abuse over an emergency hotline.

In Court

The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office said on August 28, 2019, that it would seek the death penalty for both Barron and Leiva. The Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office later dropped the death penalty option for both Barron and Leiva.

Leiva told the police that he hurt Anthony, but he denied giving him the blows that killed him. Barron said Leiva beat her up at home and she couldn't stop him, but prosecutors showed evidence that the woman had been accused of abusing her children long before Leiva came into her life.

The mother and her boyfriend were found guilty of torturing and killing the boy earlier this month(March, 2023).

Heather Barron, age 33, and Kareem Leiva, age 37, were found guilty of first-degree murder with torture by a judge in a trial without a jury. They were also found guilty of abusing two other children in their home in Lancaster.

They now face sentences of life in prison without chance of parole.

References and Further Reading:

2 convicted in torture-murder of 10-year-old California boy

Anthony Avalos’ mother and her boyfriend convicted of murder in child abuse case