Murder of Anthony Avalos

Anthony Avalos was a ten-year old American boy tortured and murdered by his mother and her boyfriend. When he was discovered, his body showed signs of physical abuse and malnutrition. His mother, Heather Barron, and her boyfriend, Kareem Leiva, were charged with murder with a special circumstance. According to Sheriff Jim McDonnell, the arrest of Leiva was made after he made suspicious comments during an initial police interview. Coming Out: The deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, Brandon Nichols, stated that in the weeks immediately prior to his death, Anthony “said he liked boys.” In the aftermath of Anthony's death, several of his relatives revealed that Barron and Leiva had demonstrated repeated evidence of their intense homophobia. Barron called Anthony a “faggot” in front of relatives, and Leiva admitted that he did not feel comfortable being in near proximity to homosexuals. Abuse: During his autopsy, Anthony's body showed clear signs of sustained abuse. He had bruises and burns all over his body, and he was extremely malnourished. According to court testimony, Anthony's aunt, Crystal Diuguid, divulged to her therapist that Anthony's mother was beating, starving, and locking him for hours in a room without any access to the bathroom. He was six years old at the time. The therapist called a child abuse hotline to report the abuse. Caseworkers responded to 13 complaints of abuse regarding Anthony between February 2013 and April 2016, including sexual abuse when he was four years old. In a statement, Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami said: "There were injuries to Anthony's side and his hip area, both his left hip and his right hip, and his arms, and even injuries to his feet." In another statement, he said, "At one point Anthony could not walk, was unconscious lying on his bedroom floor for hours, was not provided medical attention, and could not eat on his own.” Over the last few days of his life, Anthony was tortured repeatedly. He was whipped all over his body, was held upside-down and dropped on his head, sprayed with hot sauce in his eyes, nose, and mouth, and forced to kneel on rice for several hours. A 911 call was made one day before Anthony was murdered. Department of Child and Family Services: For more than four years, from 2013–2017, Anthony had been under the supervision of the Los Angeles DCFS. In that period of time, at least 13 known calls (by teachers, counselors, relatives, and police) were made to the child abuse hotline regarding Anthony's welfare. DCFS followed up eight times. According to a review by CBS News of released documents from DCFS, records from Maximus Inc., court records, and interviews from family and relatives, child protective workers missed numerous warnings of life-threatening abuse and repeatedly failed to intervene. Charges: On August 28, 2019, the Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office announced it was seeking the death penalty against both Barron and Leiva. Both pled not guilty to intentional murder with infliction of torture on the victim. In addition to the murder with a special circumstance charge, Barron was charged with an additional abuse charge of one of her other sons. Response from family: Members of Anthony's family have made several statements regarding the torture and murder of Anthony, and have been sustained in their critique of the failing of the LA DCFS. -Karla Avalos (aunt): “I'm mad, because there was multiple reports done. There were phone calls, and nobody did anything. I don’t know why they thought that was OK for them to go back with their mother. What is wrong with the system?” -Crystal Diuguid (aunt): “Part of the problem is that any time that they would come to my sister's house, they would give her a heads up. She was able to clean her house, get groceries in her cupboard and all of that. So, I think that's one thing that needs to change is the pressure. Don't give any notice to show up.” -David Barron (uncle): “I know the death penalty won’t bring Anthony back, but this is one of the worst kind of crimes you could commit, so it deserves the worst kind of punishment.” -Anthony's extended family filed a lawsuit against the LA DCFS in August 2019 after they alleged that his death was preventable and due to criminal negligence.