The death of a 10-year-old California boy is being investigated after he was found with severe head injuries and cigarette burns all over his body in his home last week.
Anthony Avalos came out to his family weeks before he died in Lancaster, California, authorities have revealed.
Before he died Anthony had “said he liked boys,” Brandon Nichols, the deputy director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services, saidaccording to theLos Angeles Times.
“One of the things that we have heard is that there may have been a motivation on the part of the man in the household regarding to the sexuality of the child, and so we’re looking into that in a very deep way,” he told the station.
Justice for Anthony/Facebook
• Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage?Click hereto get breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases in the True Crime Newsletter.
Neither Anthony’s mother, Heather Barron, nor her boyfriend Kareem Leiva, have been charged in relation to the 10-year-old’s death.
It was Barron who called 911 about 12:15 p.m. on Wednesday saying her son was unresponsive, theTimesreported. He died in a hospital the next day. Barron allegedly claimed the injuries came from a fall.
RELATED ARTICLE: Mom and Boyfriend Sentenced for 8-Year-Old Tortured in Part Because He Was Thought to Be Gay
Other allegations included sexual, emotional and physical abuse as well as neglect, the newspaper reported.
Anthony’s aunt, Maria Barron, told theTimesthat living in an alleged abusive situation and coming out “only reinforces how brave Anthony was.”
She told the department the children alleged Leiva had locked them in small spaces where they had to urinate and defecate on the floor, according to the outlet.
source: people.com
