On March 7, the trial of Kareem Leiva and Heather Barron for the torture and murder of her son, Anthony Avalos, ended in guilty verdicts for each defendant. Barron, 33, and her live-in boyfriend, 37-year-old Leiva; were found guilty of first-degree murder with special circumstances of torture. Anthony, 10, was found dead of blunt force trauma and prolonged child neglect in Lancaster on June 21, 2018.
The blunt force trauma in Anthony’s cause of death has been attributed to Leiva grabbing the boy and slamming his head repeatedly on the ground. As a result, he had severe brain injuries; Anthony was dehydrated and malnourished at the time of his death. He had not been given food or water for a long period of time, causing his body to begin to deteriorate and shut down.
Below is a series of snapshots from Anthony’s short life, photos of his killers, and images of those grieving the tragic loss of the boy at such a young age.
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