A 10-year-old boy has tragically died after suffering serious injuries from what his mother said was a fall – but now police are investigating his death as ‘suspicious’.
Authorities were called to an apartment in Lancaster, California, around noon Wednesday where Anthony Avalos was found not breathing and unresponsive.
He was rushed to the hospital but was taken off life support early Thursday morning.
Deputies also found seven of his siblings, aged 11 months to 12 years old, in the apartment where Anthony lived with his mother and boyfriend.
The children were removed by Child Protective Services and police have now launched an investigation into what they say is a ‘suspicious’ death.
Anthony Avalos, 10, died Thursday after suffering serious injuries from what his mother said was a fall
Anthony’s aunt, Maria Barron (pictured), said she reported his mother and her boyfriend to authorities years ago but nothing was done to remove the children
Courtesy of CBSLA
The Los Angeles County Sherriff’s Department said that the seven children ‘either lived at the home or were associated with the victim’s family’.
Anthony’s mother told police and her family that her son suffered a fall that led to his fatal injuries.
However, the boy’s aunt, Maria Barron, told CBS2 that she believes Anthony’s mother and her boyfriend had been abusing him.
‘He told us that he would get locked up and he wasn’t allowed to use the bathroom,’ she said.
Barron said she reported his mother and her boyfriend to the county and his school three years ago but nothing was done to remove the children.
‘Anthony deserves justice and the rest of my nieces and nephews do not deserve to to go back to her,’ Barron said.
She added that she was in the hospital with Anthony when she held his hand and said goodbye as he was taken off life support.
Los Angeles County police are are investigating his death as ‘suspicious’ after his aunt (pictured) said she believes his mother and her boyfriend are to blame
Seven of his siblings, aged 11 months to 12 years old, were removed from the home where they lived with Anthony’s mother and her boyfriend
Sheriff’s spokesperson Nicole Nishida told the Los Angeles Times that authorities had been called to the house ‘prior to this incident’.
They report that Child Protective Services came to the house at least once for child abuse allegations about one of Anthony’s siblings.
Thursday night, the community held a vigil outside the boy’s apartment complex.
His fourth grade teacher attended and told CBS2 he had been at the school for two years.
‘Anytime I needed help, Anthony was always there, he always brought me treats from the cafeteria,’ his teacher Harmony Bell said.
‘He never confided or confessed anything of the nature and if you brought it up to him, he always defended his mother. He loved her,’ the school health clerk Danielle Thompson said.
‘As a community, we ask why a child had to suffer abuse and how we lose innocent children,’ DCFS Director Bobby Cagle said in a statement. ‘Whether down the street, in a neighboring county, or across the nation. How does this happen?’
The Los Angeles County coroner will determine the exact cause of death, but the children will remain out of Anthony’s mother’s custody during the investigation.
Police were called to his family home in Lancaster, California, around noon on Wednesday where they found the fourth grader not breathing and unresponsive