Two More Arrested In Death Of OKC Boy In 2013

Oklahoma City police have arrested two more suspects in connection with the death of a boy, whose body was found in the burned remains of his home back in April, 2013.

According to police, Adrian Avalos, 7, was left alone at his house, located in the 2500 block of S.W. 51st Street, when it caught on fire. 

Firefighters discovered the boy's body after neighbors called 911. Police later said Avalos' death was a homicide because someone burglarized the home before the fire started.

4/29/2013 Related Story: SW OKC Home Burglarized Before Fatal Fire Started, Police Say

In May, 2013, two people were arrested in connection to the boy's death. Paulina Cruz, 26, and Julio Nevarez, 19, were taken into custody after a traffic stop at 22nd and Goff. Investigators said they had received information implicating the two were connected to Avalos' death.

Cruz and Nevarez were booked into the Oklahoma County jail on complaints of first-degree murder, first-degree arson and first-degree burglary.

On September 18, 2014, two more suspects, 25-year-old Claudia Cadena and 20-year-old Albert Barboza, were arrested in connection to the boy's death. Police believe Cadena and Barboza were involved in a burglary ring with Cruz and Nevarez.

Both Cadena and Barboza now face charges of first-degree murder, first-degree burglary, and first-degree arson.  

According to police, Cruz admitted that she and Nevarez set up the burglary. She said her ex-husband lived at that house, and she wanted to burglarize the home in retaliation for her ex-husband's lack of support for their child.

All four suspects then went to the home that night. But it was Nevarez and Barboza who broke into the home and stole jewelry, purses, televisions and computer equipment. Cruz and Cadena sat down outside, watching out for any vehicle that might return to the home, police said.

After the burglary, police said Naverez used some light fluid and a light to set the house on fire. Avalos was the only occupant inside the home at that time. He later died at the hospital from injuries sustained in the fire.

The suspects told police they did not know that the child was inside the home.

The boy's mother, Noemi Lopez, and her boyfriend, Antonio Guillen, were charged with child neglect.