A 10-year-old boy was starved and mercilessly beaten to death by his own mother and her boyfriend – after he came out as gay.
Vile Heather Maxine Barron, 33, and Kareem Ernesto Leiva, 37 from California were charged with the torture and first-degree murder of little Anthony Avalos in March.
Anthony was monstrously beaten to the point where he couldn’t walk, or eat food on his own.
According to DailyStar, he was left unconscious lying on his bedroom floor for hours and no medical attention was provided to him.
His other brothers and sisters were asked to keep watch on him so he ‘would remain standing or kneeling’.
Anthony was callously tortured for a week before his death on June 21 at his Lancaster home in the Mojave Desert, north of Los Angeles in 2018.
However, Barron lied and tried to convince officials that Anthony had fallen down the stairs.
The couple who had been held in custody on $2 million bail each were sentenced in Los Angeles on Tuesday without the chance of parole.
During the sentencing on Tuesday, Judge Sam Ohta said: ‘Anthony was a helpless child who was dependent (on the defendants) for his basic physical needs and emotional support. Instead, Anthony was tortured and killed.’
Several close family members labelled Heather a ‘monster’ including her own sister. Maria Barron who was disgusted at her actions to learn her sister ‘could commit unspeakable acts against a child’.
LA County District Attorney Jackie Lacey’s initial push for the death penalty was ultimately rejected by current District Attorney George Gascón’s office.
It is estimated that the couple could face up to 22 years to life in state prison. But boyfriend Leiva could be sentenced to more – 32 years to life in prison.
Back in 2018 Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami confirmed that the innocent boy’s heart stopped.
He also suffered a traumatic brain injury and a brain bleed when he was brought to the hospital.
