Couple arrested for abusing a corpse
Oct. 6—Blake Vickers
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following article contains graphic depictions of child abuse and death.
A man and woman were arrested in Richmond after police say they attempted to hide the corpse of a nine-year-old child.
According to a warrant from the Daviess County District Court, a deputy with the Daviess County Sheriff's Office was dispatched to a residence in regards to a missing persons case.
While on the scene, the deputy was allegedly approached by a juvenile witness who claimed a nine-year-old child had died in her residence in Evansville, Indiana.
Police documents indicate the body had been wrapped in a plastic trash bag and sealed in a plastic tote before being transported to Curdsville-Delaware Road in Owensboro.
On Aug. 15, 2022, Jose Elpidio Gomez-Alvarez, of Owensboro, allegedly moved the body again to a storage facility owned by his girlfriend Chyanne Porter, who is not the child's biological mother.
The deputy contacted the owners of the storage facility who said the particular unit had delinquent fees and would soon be put up for auction. They also told the deputy that Porter no longer had a claim on the contents of the unit due to a breach of the lease.
The storage facility allowed the deputy to enter the unit where he noticed a tote similar in description to the one that allegedly housed the body of the boy. According to warrants, the deputy immediately went to get a search warrant for the unit and inspected the suspicious container.
After opening the tote, the deputy allegedly found multiple layers of duct tape as well as plastic wrapping and a layer of lime. A blanket that was allegedly soaked in blood and wrapped around the remains of what he believed to be the nine-year-old, was also found by the deputy.
Both Gomes-Alvarez and Porter were arrested in Richmond and lodged in the Madison County Detention Center.
Police documents indicate Gomez-Alvarez admitted to being aware that his child had lost consciousness and he unsuccessfully performed CPR on the child. He did not report the death out of the alleged fear he would face legal consequences.
According to Porter's arrest warrant from the Daviess District Court, multiple juvenile witnesses claimed they were neglected by Gomez-Alvarez and Porter. On one such occasion, the children were allegedly locked in a basement, where the nine-year-old had gone into a fit of convulsions and died.
Gomez-Alvarez was arrested on Oct. 4 and charged with tampering with physical evidence, abuse of a corpse, and failure to appear in court.
Porter was arrested on Oct. 3 and charged with tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse.
The Register collects and publishes police reports as a public service to its readers. The reports often contain allegations against individuals and do not mean the individuals committed a crime. All people named in connection with a crime are presumed innocent until guilty in a court of law.
