Death Penalty News

A California woman and her boyfriend could face the death penalty in the June slaying of her 10-year-old son, who authorities say was lashed, body-slammed and forced to kneel on rice — among other torture claims, according to reports Wednesday. Heather Barron, 29, and Kareem Leiva, 32, of Lancaster, pleaded not guilty to all criminal charges, including murder involving the infliction of torture, the Los Angeles Times reported. Anthony died June 21. In the days leading up to his death, Barron and Leiva allegedly poured hot sauce on the boy’s face, gave him rug burns, and dropped him on his head after dangling him upside down, the Times reported, citing Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami’s motion. The LA County Department of Children and Family Services received tips that the boy was being abused, but allowed him to remain in the home with his mother and her boyfriend, the report said. The agency investigated 88 claims of abuse dating to 2013, according to an att...

SAN QUENTIN, Calif. - Condemned inmate Emilio Avalos, 40, who was on California’s death row from Riverside County, was pronounced dead this week. Officials said it happened Wednesday at 5:53 p.m. at San Quentin State Prison.  The cause of death is unknown pending the results of an autopsy. Avalos was sentenced to death by a Riverside County jury on Feb. 22, 2013, for the Dec. 19, 2001, first-degree murder of his ex-girlfriend’s boyfriend, 20-year-old Marine Cpl. Henry Lozano, and the Dec. 21, 1994, shooting death of 17-year-old Jahi Collins.  In addition to the murder charges, Avalos was also convicted of the attempted murder of Collins’ friend Bobby Wilson, who was left paralyzed in the 1994 gunfire. Avalos had been on California’s death row since March 5, 2013. Since 1978, when California reinstated capital punishment, 71 condemned inmates have died from natural causes, 25 have committed suicide, 13 have been executed in California, one was execute...

It is soul-bruising to contemplate the torture that 10-year-old Anthony Avalos endured in his Lancaster home for more than a week before dying last year. Whippings with a looped cord and belt. Repeatedly held upside down then dropped on his head. Getting slammed into pieces of furniture and against the floor. Hot sauce poured on his face and mouth. The road map of the abuse stretched from head to toe on his small malnourished body — bruises, abrasions, scabs and cuts visible on the outside. Traumatic brain injury and soft tissue damage on the inside. All allegedly perpetrated by his mother, Heather Barron, and her boyfriend, Kareem Leiva. RELATED | California: Prosecutors seeking death penalty in Anthony Avalos torture case If ever a set of circumstances called for the death penalty, this would be it. Few were surprised when Los Angeles County prosecutors said Wednesday that if the couple is convicted of the torture-murder, the jury will be asked to recommend a death s...

La madre y su novio enfrentan cargos de asesinato por tortura del niño de 10 años. LOS ÁNGELES — La fiscalía anunció este miércoles que se buscará la pena de muerte contra una mujer de Lancaster y su novio, acusados del asesinato por tortura de su hijo de 10 años.  Heather Barron, de 29 años, y Kareem Leiva, de 33, siguen encarcelados sin derecho a fianza en relación con la muerte del 21 de junio de 2018 de su hijo, Anthony Avalos.  Los fiscales alegan que Anthony fue torturado gravemente durante los últimos cinco o seis días de su vida por su madre y Leiva. El presunto abuso incluyó azotar al niño con un cinturón y una cuerda enrollada, verterle salsa picante en la cara y la boca, sujetarlo por los pies y dejarlo caer sobre su cabeza repetidamente, según una presentación de la corte de la fiscalía.  A principios de este mes, los familiares del joven anunciaron una demanda contra el condado de Los Ángeles, acusando al condado y a varios trabajadores soc...

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the mother of Anthony Avalos and her boyfriend, who are accused of torturing the 10-year-old boy for days before his death last year. A grand jury indicted Heather Maxine Barron, 29, and Kareem Ernesto Leiva, 33, in October on charges that they murdered the boy and abused two other children in the household.  The boy’s relatives praised the district attorney’s office’s decision to pursue the death penalty, which was announced in court Wednesday. “I know the death penalty will not bring Anthony back, but this is one of the worst kind of crimes you could commit so it deserves the worst kind of punishment,” David Barron, Anthony’s uncle, told reporters after the hearing. Prosecutors have said that Heather Barron and Leiva poured hot sauce on Anthony’s face and mouth, whipped the boy with a looped cord and belt, held him upside down and dropped him on his head repeatedly.  They also alleged that the couple alt...

LOS ANGELES - The  Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors Tuesday formally approved a $32 million settlement of a lawsuit filed by relatives of a 10-year-old  Lancaster boy who died in 2018 after allegedly being subjected to extensive torture by his mother and her boyfriend. The settlement of the county's portion of the lawsuit over the death of Anthony Avalos was announced in May, and attorneys for the family confirmed a week later that the county would be paying $32 million, pending Board of Supervisors approval. "We hope that Anthony's family and loved ones find a small measure of peace and closure in the resolution of this tragic case," according to a statement released by the county Department of Children and Family Services following the board's approval of the settlement. " Anthony's death and other child tragedies demonstrate the complexities of child welfare, and we continue to apply lessons learned to evolve and improve the way we work with ch...

Prosecutors will no longer seek the death penalty for the mother of Anthony Avalos and her boyfriend, who are accused of torturing the 10-year-old Lancaster boy for days before his death in 2018, Los Angeles County Dist. Atty. George Gascón’s office confirmed Saturday. A grand jury indicted Heather Maxine Barron, 31, and Kareem Ernesto Leiva, 35, in October 2018 on charges that they murdered the boy and abused two other children in the household. Barron and Leiva are being held without bail. Both have pleaded not guilty. Prosecutors have said the couple poured hot sauce on Anthony’s face and mouth, whipped the boy with a looped cord and belt, and held him upside down and dropped him on his head repeatedly. They also alleged that the couple alternately withheld food and force-fed him, slammed him into furniture and the floor, denied access to the bathroom, and enlisted other children in the home to inflict pain on the boy. Anthony’s wounds stretched from head to toe as bruises, abrasion...

Anthony Avalos was the fastest runner in his fourth-grade class at El Dorado Elementary School in Lancaster. He earned a place on the honor roll, and his teacher, Harmony Bell, noticed an uncommon emotional maturity for a boy his age. He often collected his thoughts before speaking, asking Bell if he could step out of the room and take a few deep breaths. When a new student joined the class, he asked to move to a neighboring seat, hoping to be the friend the newcomer needed. Yet Bell saw that Anthony was often nervous about something. He held his Bible tightly throughout the day, once quaking with tears when it fell to the floor. Anthony would never return to school after classes ended last year. The next month, the 10-year-old arrived at a hospital emergency room with fatal bleeding in his skull. His body showed signs of prolonged abuse. His skin was bruised and burned from head to toe. His once-healthy frame had wasted to skin and bones. The coroner's r...