It is hard to imagine someone committing a crime against a child. Much less that a mother would hurt her child herself to the point that the child passes away. The story of Anthony Avalos causes great shock for people. Keep reading to learn more…
Heather Maxine Barron, 33, and her boyfriend Kareem Ernesto Leiva, 37 have both been sentenced to life without parole in a non-jury trial for the murder of 10-year-old Anthony Avalos. Avalos was Barron’s son and was put through a lot before he eventually passed away.
Avalos died on June 21, 2018, and his death was investigated after. Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta gave the sentence for both Barron and Leiva after listening to witness impact statements for more than two hours.
“Anthony was a helpless child who was dependent (on the defendants) … for his basic physical needs and emotional support. Instead, Anthony was tortured and killed,” Ohta said when he walked the court through his sentence.
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Neither Barron nor Leiva spoke during the hearing.
One of the victim impact statements read was by an 8-year-old boy who had been related to Anthony. The boy said, “I miss my cousin Anthony. I was a baby when I last saw him. I wish I could remember all our times together, but all I have is pictures and stories that my family tells me.”
“Heather is an evil monster,” the boy said, as he referred to Barron. “She deserves to spend the rest of her life in prison. I don’t forgive Heather for taking my cousin’s life. I hope she gets beat up in jail because I just wanted to meet Anthony.”
A 16-year-old who read another victim impact statement wiped away tears as she did so. She said, “Anthony was never related to me but I still called him my cousin. Anthony was my shoulder to lean on, as well as his siblings’ shoulder to lean on.”
She addressed both defendants directly and said: “The two of you don’t deserve sympathy. You don’t deserve anything. I want you to know that I hate you both. My mom always tells me that hate is too strong of a word, but it’s the only word that expresses my feelings towards you two.”
On March 7, Ohta found two defendants guilty of first-degree torture in a non-jury trial. The two of them waived their rights to have their case heard by a jury.
“It is clear to this court beyond a reasonable doubt that each defendant targeted Anthony as a scapegoat for extreme cruelty,” the judge said. The ruling was over 50 pages long.
In his verdict the judge said the couple “worked together to deprive Anthony access to liquids for a substantial length of time causing severe dehydration,” and that the “condition of Anthony’s body, which shows multiple bruises, cuts, possible burn marks all over his body show the extreme torture caused by the combined treatment of Anthony by both defendants manifesting an intent to kill by each defendant.”
The judge also said that he rejected the claims made by the couple that Anthony had thrown himself to the ground which caused his injuries, saying that this was done in an effort to “deceive authorities.”
“Defendant Barron waited to call 911 until Anthony was literally deceased on the afternoon of June 20, 2018. This flagrant lack of care for Anthony’s life all points to intent to kill by both defendant Barron and defendant Leiva,” the judge said, maintaining that he believed that subsequent statements made by both defendants were made in order to cover up their liability in the murder of young Avalos.
The defendants were also convicted of abuse of Avalos’s half-siblings identified as “Destiny O.” and “Rafael O” in court.
Testimony during the trial from Avalos’ half-siblings and one of Leiva’s daughters also showed that there was a lot of abuse and negligence involved in the case. The judge said the couple “worked together to abuse Anthony.” He added that reports showed the boy died from severe dehydration and blunt force trauma to his head. Judge Ohta said that “the evidence supports the conclusion both defendants hurt Anthony for pleasure” and that the 10-year-old boy was “helpless to protect himself against the wrath of defendants Barron and Leiva.”
This is such a horrifying case but it is a relief that justice has been served. We are sending our thoughts and prayers to all those affected by the death of young Anthony Avalos.
