LOS ANGELES—A Lancaster woman and her boyfriend who were convicted of torturing and murdering the woman’s 10-year-old son were sentenced April 25 to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Heather Maxine Barron, 33, and Kareem Ernesto Leiva, 37, were convicted in a non-jury trial March 7 of first-degree murder and torture for the June 21, 2018, death of Anthony Avalos. Superior Court Judge Sam Ohta, who found the couple guilty, handed down the life-without-parole sentences for the pair Tuesday morning after hearing emotional statements from the boy’s relatives and friends—many of whom referred to the defendants as “monsters.”
“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,” Ohta said as he meticulously walked through his sentencing decision….