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.Â
ANTHONY AVALOS TRIAL: CALIFORNIA BOY LOOKED LIKE ‘CANCER PATIENT’ AFTER ALLEGED MURDER BY MOM, LOVER, EMT TESTIFIES
“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.
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.Â
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.
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…
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