An Indiana father and his girlfriend have each been sentenced to 30 years in prison for the starvation, abuse, and torture that led to the death of the man’s 7-year-old son, a case prosecutors described as one of the most disturbing they have encountered.
Marion Superior Judge Marshelle Dawkins Broadwell imposed the sentences Monday on 27-year-old Kevin Gavarrete and his 21-year-old girlfriend, Julia Sizemore, following guilty pleas related to the 2024 death of Kayden Gavarrete. Court records show both defendants admitted to neglect of a dependent resulting in death and neglect of a dependent by placing the child in a dangerous situation.
Kayden died just days before Christmas after enduring prolonged abuse inside the family’s Indianapolis home.
“This is among the worst cases we have seen,” Marion County Prosecutor Ryan Mears said in a statement after sentencing. “As a father of a child who was the same age as Kayden, it’s gut-wrenching. This resolution ensures both defendants will spend decades in prison and provides certainty for Kayden’s family.”
The investigation began on Dec. 22, 2024, when officers from the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department responded around 4 p.m. to a home on the 1300 block of South Pershing Avenue for what was described as a “possible death investigation.” First responders found Kayden unresponsive in a bathroom and pronounced him dead at the scene. Gavarrete and Sizemore were arrested the following day.
Investigators described a scene that pointed to severe and ongoing abuse. Kayden was emaciated, covered in bruises and cuts at various stages of healing, and had burn marks on his face and body, according to reporting by the Indianapolis Star. The Marion County Coroner’s Office said the child weighed just 32 pounds at the time of his death. His cause of death was ruled multiple blunt force trauma injuries combined with complications from malnutrition.
During police interviews, Gavarrete told investigators he had stayed up most of the night playing video games and slept into the afternoon. According to reports, he said he checked on Kayden around 2:30 p.m. and, after receiving no response, went outside to smoke before returning and finding the child unresponsive.
Gavarrete claimed Kayden’s condition stemmed from illness and refusal to eat or drink. He also alleged the boy’s injuries were self-inflicted, telling police Kayden was always “throwing tantrums” and frequently threw himself to the ground “too hard.”
The father told detectives he had been homeschooling Kayden for about a year due to bullying and said he did not seek medical care because he was “afraid of how the hospital staff would react.”
Sizemore, investigators said, told detectives she had never seen Gavarrete hit Kayden and added that she “did not want to get into his personal business.”
At Monday’s hearing, both defendants delivered identical brief statements before sentencing. Footage aired by WTHR showed each saying, “I’m sorry for what happened” and “It never should have happened.”
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