Anthony Avalos Autopsy Reports Depict She Was Abused?

Anthony Avalos was a bright and compassionate fourth-grade student at El Dorado Elementary School in Lancaster. He was known for his speed on the track and earned a spot on the honor roll. 

His teacher, Harmony Bell, noticed that he had an uncommon emotional maturity for his age and often collected his thoughts before speaking. However, Bell noticed that Anthony was often nervous about something and held his Bible tightly throughout the day. 

Unfortunately, Anthony would never return to school after classes ended last year. The next month, the 10-year-old was brought to a hospital emergency room with fatal bleeding in his skull. 

His body showed signs of prolonged abuse, including bruises and burns all over his body. His once-healthy frame had wasted skin and bones.

Anthony had been under the supervision of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) sporadically over a four-year period beginning in 2013 and ending in 2017, more than a year before his death. 

During that period, at least 13 calls were made by teachers, police, counselors, and relatives to the child abuse hotline about Anthony’s welfare. 

However, child protective workers and others tasked with protecting Anthony missed numerous warnings and opportunities to intervene before his death, according to dozens of interviews and a review of court records, documents from DCFS, and records of outside agencies hired by the county to help Anthony and his family.

Anthony’s mother, Heather Barron, and her boyfriend, Kareem Leiva, have been charged with first-degree murder in the boy’s torture death. 

Prosecutors intend to seek the death penalty if they are convicted. Both have pleaded not guilty, and Anthony’s siblings have been removed from the home. 

The county’s child welfare agency has faced scrutiny after a series of high-profile child abuse cases in recent years, including the suspicious death in July of 4-year-old Noah Cuatro in Palmdale. Caseworkers had left Noah with his family despite a court order to remove him.