A woman testified she saw her father, a defendant in the murder trial, repeatedly drop Anthony Avalos on the floor, and the boy appeared to be dead when she saw him two days later.
Leiva and Barron now face a maximum of life in prison without the possibility of parole if they are convicted as charged."He dropped him," Leiva's daughter responded.Leiva's daughter -- who cried at points during her testimony and said she had done "a lot of work to try and move past" what had happened -- testified that it was a "very uncomfortable thing to witness" because "he was hurting somebody.
The prosecutor noted that Leiva uttered an expletive in the downtown Los Angeles courtroom while his daughter was being questioned about what she had subsequently told Leiva's family members. She said she didn't see Anthony throwing himself on the ground, although she, Barron and Leiva each told investigators that he had.
"She's been torturing her kids for a long period of time, and once defendant Leiva came into the picture it turned deadly," he said. Dan Chambers said the two major issues will be "a lack of intent to kill" and the issues of "causation."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Anthony Avalos death: Coroner testifies that 10-year-old's brain showed sustained abuseWhen 10-year-old Anthony Avalos was rushed to the hospital in 2018 not breathing and with no pulse, first responders were perplexed: They could not see injuries severe enough to explain the little boy's near-death state
Read more »
Anthony Avalos death trial: Woman testifies to seeing her dad drop 10-year-old boyCalled to the stand in the murder trial of her father and his girlfriend, the 18-year-old woman testified that she remembered seeing Anthony dropped 'multiple times' on the floor by his mother's boyfriend.
Read more »
Anthony Avalos trial: Witness called hotline after boy reported alleged abuse by his motherLess than three years before his death, 10-year-old Anthony Avalos told a school vice principal he had been abused by his mother, prompting a report to a child abuse hotline, the then-vice principal testified in the murder trial of the boy's mother and her boyfriend.
Read more »
Vice principal reported abuse less than 3 years before the killing of Anthony Avalos in LancasterThe educator called a child abuse hotline on Sept. 18, 2015, after Anthony Avalos told her that he was being abused at home.
Read more »
Anthony Avalos' teacher shares letter boy wrote before he died: 'I want to stay with you forever'In emotional testimony, Anthony Avalos' teacher described the boy as 'everyone's best friend.' She noted that he penned a letter to her in which he wrote, 'I just want to stay with you forever, but I can't.'
Read more »
Ex-corrections officer convicted in fatal shooting at South Jersey doctor’s officeThe defendant visited the medical office after becoming upset about an appointment involving his father.
Read more »