Police say 2 parents abused child, kept body in a storage unit for months

EVANSVILLE — Two parents who were reported multiple times to Kentucky's Department of Child Services for alleged abuse now stand accused of neglect resulting in death and stowing the body of their child in an Owensboro, Kentucky, storage unit for several months.

The parents, 32-year-old Jose Gomez-Alvarez and 27-year-old Cheyanne Porter, were first arrested Oct. 3 in Owensboro after police recovered the child's remains from an Extra Space Storage unit off New Hartford Road.

Now, police allege the child died months earlier in Evansville after suffering nearly a year of abuse inflicted by Alvarez and Porter. In police interviews, the parents reportedly said the child, who has not been publicly identified, died Feb. 7.

The parents' two surviving children, both of whom are younger than 12, accused Gomez-Alvarez and Porter of inflicting tortuous abuse, according to police records.

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Both Gomez-Alvarez and Porter now face 12 additional counts in Vanderburgh County, including neglect of a dependent resulting in death, a Level 1 felony, neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury, a Level 5 felony, obstruction of justice, a Level 6 felony, and abuse of a corpse, a Level 6 felony.

What police say happened

According to a probable cause affidavit against the parents, Daviess County (Kentucky) Sheriff's deputies first began to investigate Sept. 30 after witnesses reported the deceased child, identified as Victim 1, missing in Owensboro.

One of Porter's surviving children, identified in the affidavit as Victim 2, reportedly claimed their parents "killed" their sibling while the family was residing in Evansville.

"(Victim 2) said Gomez-Alvarez and Porter put (Victim 1's) body in a plastic storage container and brought it with them to Owensboro," the affidavit states.

On Oct. 3, deputies executed a search warrant at Extra Space Storage, where they allegedly recovered human remains from Porter's unit. Police said the body was severely decomposed and wrapped inside multiple layers of plastic.

That same day, Kentucky State Police troopers arrested Gomez-Alvarez and Porter and transported them to a KSP precinct for interviews.

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According to the affidavit, Gomez-Alvarez told detectives he knew why he was being interviewed: "Something happened to (the child)," he is quoted as saying. "That's all I can say."

But he would go on to provide investigators with additional details about what happened, police said. As would Porter.

Both parents said the family resided in the 3500 block of North Kentucky Avenue, in Evansville at the time of the child's death. The house was reportedly overrun with mold, and Gomez-Alvarez and Porter claimed the entire family had gotten sick.

On Feb. 7, Gomez-Alvarez said he found the child unresponsive inside the house and attempted to perform CPR, but "couldn't bring her back," the affidavit states. According to Gomez-Alvarez, he and Porter then wrapped the child's body in a blanket and placed it in a plastic storage container.

In June, they placed that container in the Owensboro storage unit, Gomez-Alvarez said.

Surviving children describe alleged abuse that lead to death

Detectives said the parents' two surviving children told a different story during police interviews — one of abuse and neglect.

"(Victim 2) said she woke up in the basement and saw Gomez-Alvarez and Porter staring at (Victim 1)," the affidavit states. "At one point, (Victim 2) said she went upstairs to sneak (Victim 1) some food, but when she tried giving it to her, (Victim 1) fell over and stopped breathing."

Victim 2 also reportedly told police Porter began to laugh at the sight of the unresponsive child. Victim 2 claimed Porter then said, "We killed one of them."

The other surviving child, identified as Victim 3, interrupted the police interview at one point to say, "My mom killed (Victim 1) and then put her in the basement," according to the affidavit.

Both surviving children reportedly told police that Porter did not adequately feed them or their now-deceased sibling.

"My mom never fed her," Victim 3 is quoted as saying in the affidavit. "She was very, very skinny. She got skinny when my mom didn't feed her."

When Porter would go to bed, Victim 3 told police Gomez-Alvarez would bring her something to eat.

The two surviving children also described the Evansville home as a place unfit for habitation. Victim 3 said the basement they used as a bedroom was "flooded" and "full of worms," police said.

DCS aware of alleged abuse, neglect, months prior to child's death

According to Evansville Police Department detectives, the Kentucky Department of Child Services had "numerous" assessments on file for Porter and Gomez-Alvarez tracing back to at least February 2021, a year before their child died.

On Feb. 8, 2021, a witness called DCS to report that Porter called Victim 1, the child who would later be found dead, a "b****," and that Porter "makes her sleep on the floor and in feces," the affidavit states.

The caller also alleged Porter locked her children in a closet when they misbehaved.

A second call to DCS, placed on May 26, 2021, accused Porter of keeping Victim 1 "locked in her room" and of calling her "the Devil's child," according to the affidavit. The caller also told DCS the child smeared human feces on walls, a common sign of abuse.

"They noted that none of the children have any vaccines because Porter didn't believe in them, and they hadn't been enrolled in school since 2019," the affidavit states.

According to EPD detectives, DCS "only made contact with Porter and the children over the phone," following this report and "never substantiated any claims."

Both Gomez-Alvarez and Porter are currently being held at the Daviess County jail on their initial charges.

Vanderburgh County Circuit Court issued a warrant for Gomez-Alvarez and Porter's arrest on Oct. 28 and ordered them to be held without bond, court records show.

Houston Harwood can be contacted at houston.harwood@courierpress.com with story ideas and questions.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Police: Parents kept deceased child in storage container for months