Taking the stand against their own mother, two children recounted how Heather Barron and Kareem Leiva turned their Antelope Valley residence into a house of horrors, forcing them to do grueling workouts, fight one another and guzzle hot sauce.
Anthony Avalos’ siblings say everything changed after their mother’s new boyfriend, Kareem Leiva, moved in.
Sometimes, Destiny said, the children were forced to fight one another in gladiator style combat, with the winner being spared from Leiva’s alleged sadistic punishments. But when she was matched up against her older brother Anthony, Destiny said, the 10-year-old always let her win to save her from Leiva.
The case also revealed massive failures within L.A. County’s child care system. Officials with the Department of Child and Family Services were aware of at least 13 reports of abuse involving Anthony, but the boy was allowed to remain in Leiva and Barron’s home. No DCFS employees have been disciplined in connection with the case, the agency has said. Several DCFS employees are expected to testify later in the trial.
“Mom told Kareem that she was going to call the police and when Kareem heard that,” he grabbed his own children and drove off in Barron’s car, Rafael testified. When Barron’s attorney asked whom he blamed for Anthony’s death, Rafael simply blurted out the name “Kareem.”
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