Anthony’s mother and her boyfriend sat stoically in a downtown Los Angeles courtroom as prosecutors opened the trial against them by outlining the horrific abuses the couple is accused of inflicting on the boy, who ultimately died of head trauma in 2018.
The Antelope Valley boy would spend hours locked in a room with no access to food, water or a bathroom. His body was wracked with welts produced by the lashes of belts and electrical cables. Wounds on his knees would scab over and reopen after he was forced to kneel on uncooked rice and concrete. His blood dotted the room where he slept.
While Leiva admitted to severely abusing the boy in a recorded interview with Sheriff’s Department investigators that was played in court Tuesday, his attorney, Dan Chambers, argued that Leiva did not cause Anthony’s death and should be acquitted of his murder. The reports of violence against the boy grew more severe. One day, he showed up to school with wounds believed to have been caused by BB gun pellets, according to The Times’ report. He told a vice principal that his mother’s abuses included forcing to him to hold a squatted position for long periods of time with his arms outstretched, which she called “the captain’s chair.
Flipping between a picture of a younger, healthier and smiling Anthony and an image of the boy lying in a hospital bed with sunken, bloody eyes and a body covered in cuts and bruises, Teymouri looked at the defendants and said: “They turned this beautiful 10-year-old boy from this, to this.” In addition to determining the defendants’ guilt or innocence, the trial will also serve as a referendum on the county’s Department of Children and Family Services.
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: 4 years after Lancaster boy's death, murder and torture trial set to beginFour years after the death of Anthony Avalos, a 10-year-old boy from Lancaster, his mother and her boyfriend are set to go to trial on murder, torture and child abuse charges.
Read more »
Prosecutors outline disturbing allegations of abuse in Anthony Avalos murder trialAnthony Avalos trial: Prosecutors spell out disturbing allegations of torture, abuse in murder case against Lancaster boy's mother, her boyfriend
Read more »
Trial opens in Anthony Avalos case of child torture, murder in LancasterOpening statements will begin Wednesday in the trial of a Lancaster woman and her boyfriend accused of torturing and murdering her 10-year-old son.
Read more »
Anthony Avalos trial: Opening arguments begin in murder, torture of 10-year-old Lancaster boyOpening statements in the non-jury trial of Heather Maxine Barron and Kareem Ernesto Leiva are underway. The two face a maximum sentence of life in prison without the possibility of parole for the death of 10-year-old Anthony Avalos in 2018.
Read more »
In alleged torture and murder of 10-year-old Anthony Avalos, mother and boyfriend are now on trialBoth sides have waived the right to a jury trial, so Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta will hear the case. The maximum penalty for the defendants is life without parole.
Read more »
WATCH LIVE: Day 2 of Andre McDonald murder trialThe trial for Andre McDonald will resume on Tuesday after a shocking start to the trial.
Read more »