Los Angeles County Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who oversees Santa Clarita, released a statement of disapproval after the death penalty of a Lancaster woman and her boyfriend were dismissed in a case where they allegedly tortured their son to death.
Anthony Avalos, 10, from Lancaster was killed in June of 2018 after being tortured by his mother and her boyfriend, according to officials.
The option of the death penalty for the two suspects, Heather Maxine Barron and Kareem Ernesto Leiva was dropped Friday by District Attorney George Gascón.
Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami, who has criticized the new district attorney for a series of directives including one that advises that “a sentence of death is never an appropriate resolution in any case” — opposed the latest decision in the case of Barron and Leiva, according to a statement from FOXLA.
Barron, 31, and Leiva, 35, could now face a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole if convicted as charged of murder and torture, along with the special-circumstance allegation of murder involving the infliction of torture, for Avalos June 2018 death, the Fox article read.
“This was a horrific crime perpetrated against a young child by those who were meant to love and protect him,” Barger said. Those who are responsible for his torture and murder should be held accountable and punished to the fullest extent of the law. This death shook the community and this decision by the District Attorney has not been supported by the prosecuting attorney on this case.”
In court papers, prosecutors alleged that Avalos was severely tortured during the last five or six days of his life by Barron and Leiva, who abused, beat, assaulted and tortured him.
The alleged abuse included whipping the boy with a belt and a looped cord, pouring hot sauce on his face and mouth, holding him by his feet and dropping him on his head repeatedly, according to the court papers.
Deputies and paramedics responded to a 9-1-1 call from Barron about 12:15 p.m. June 20 2018 and found her son unresponsive inside the family’s apartment, according to officials.
Investigators said they were told that the child had suffered injuries from a fall, but investigators quickly classified the death as suspicious.
Avalos died early the next morning.
Along with the murder charge, Barron and Leiva are facing two counts of child abuse involving two other children in the home. Leiva is also facing an allegation that he personally inflicted great bodily injury on one of the children in circumstances involving domestic violence, according to the FOX article.
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