A Los Angeles judge found the mother and boyfriend guilty of first-degree murder in the gruesome death of Anthony Avalos Tuesday, which prosecutors have called “nothing short of monstrous.”
Heather Maxine Barron, 33, and her boyfriend Kareem Ernesto Leiva, 37, were both charged with murder and torture in the death of her 10-year-old son, as well as child abuse against two other children in the home and special circumstance enhancements, court records show.
“For the crime charged in court 1, murder…the court finds defendant Kareem Ernesto Leiva guilty of first-degree murder,” Judge Sam Ohta read Tuesday afternoon, before a collective gasp in the gallery interrupted him.
He warned the courtroom to remain quiet and read the same verdict for Barron.
On June 20, 2018, just weeks after the end of Anthony Avalos’ fourth-grade school year, his mother Heather Barron called 911 to report her son was unconscious, according to the documents. (Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images, Inset: David Barron via AP)
“The court finds defendant Heather Maxine Barron guilty of first-degree murder under a theory of torture murder,” Ohta said.
The verdicts come more than a month after the couple’s bench trial began.
Following the verdict, prosecutors and other members of Anthony’s family were expected to hold a press conference on the 12th floor of the courthouse.
Los Angeles County prosecutors were initially seeking the death penalty for a mother and her boyfriend with accused of murdering and torturing Anthony Avalos, the woman’s 10-year-old son. District Attorney George Gascon abandoned the death penalty after taking office. Both mother and her boyfriend were convicted of his murder on Tuesday. (Facebook)
On June 20, 2018, just weeks after the end of Anthony’s fourth-grade school year, Barron called 911 to report her son was unconscious, according to the documents.
Prosecutors allege the boy had been beaten, starved and tortured to the point of “extreme physical pain and suffering.” He was covered in bruises and abrasions and had cigarette burns on his stomach.
At the hospital, doctors noted he appeared “severely malnourished and dehydrated,” and he died the following morning.
Booking photos showing accused child killers Kareem Leiva and Heather Barron. (Los Angeles Sheriff)
CALIFORNIA MS-13 MEMBER ACCUSED OF 10-YEAR-OLD’S TORTURE AND MURDER IS IN US ILLEGALLY: SOURCE
Leiva is a reputed MS-13 gang member and illegal immigrant who allegedly shanked another inmate while awaiting trial, according to court documents, and was accused of domestic violence against females in both 2010 and 2013.
Deputy district attorneys Jonathan Hatami, who rose to prominence as the lead prosecutor in the Gabriel Fernandez trial, and Saeed Teymouri prosecuted the case.
Anthony Avalos, 10, was tortured and murdered, according to prosecutors (Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department)
The former Los Angeles district attorney, Jackie Lacey, had intended to seek the death penalty in the case, but current DA George Gascon, who has publicly opposed such punishment for years, reversed course after taking office.
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Barron and Leiva both face a maximum of life imprisonment without parole if convicted on the murder charges and special circumstances enhancements for torture.
FOX Los Angeles reported in October that the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a $32 million settlement with the rest of Anthony’s family, which sued alleging county social workers failed to properly handle reports of abuse in the home.
