The human remains found in an Owensboro storage unit in October belong to a child who police believe died at an Evansville home several months ago, according to an affidavit for the parents’ arrest. The parents also reportedly had “numerous assessments” on file with Kentucky’s Department of Child Services. They face nearly a dozen felony-level charges related to neglect resulting in a dependent’s death and the alleged ongoing abuse of multiple dependents. (Note: Many of the details in this story are graphic.)
The parents, 32-year-old Jose Gomez-Alvarez and 27-year-old Chyanne Porter, were first arrested on October 4, the day after the child’s remains were found in a unit at Extra Space Storage on New Hartford Road in Owensboro. The child has still not been publicly identified by officials, though based on the affidavit they know the identity because the parents have admitted to putting the child’s remains in the container.
Gomez-Alvarez and Porter remain lodged at the Daviess County Detention Center. In Daviess County, they face Class-D felony charges of abuse of corpse and tampering with physical evidence.
After further investigation, numerous other charges were filed by the Evansville Police Department on Oct. 28. Those include multiple counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in death (Level 1 felony), multiple counts of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury (Level 5 felony), attempted obstruction of justice (Level 6 felony), and abuse of a corpse (Level 6 felony).
An affidavit filed with the Vanderburgh Superior Court detail more information about the alleged abuse over the last year and the events surrounding the death. Interviews were conducted with both adults and four children.
The Evansville affidavit show that Gomez-Alvarez had three children — the one who died, plus two others identified as victims, all under 12 years old — from a previous relationship. He also had two other children — identified as witnesses in the affidavit — with Porter.
According to that affidavit, three of the children plus another witness not related to the family all said that Porter abused the three children from Gomez-Alvarez’ previous relationship — with allegations including not feeding the children, making them stay in a basement with concrete walls and floors, and various forms of physical abuse.
Gomez-Alvarez and Porter both claimed to try to give CPR to the child who died, according to the affidavit. However, according to the affidavit, one of the surviving victims told police that when the child stopped breathing, Porter “laughed and said, ‘We killed one of them.’”
The other surviving victim also told police that “My mom killed [Victim 1] and then put her in the basement,” according to the affidavit.
The full report from Evansville Police Department that is in the affidavit can be found below:
On 09/30/2022, Daviess County Kentucky Sheriff Deputy, R. Day, was dispatched to 6895 Highway 2830 Lot 21, Owensboro, KY to investigate a missing person. On scene, he spoke with Haley Cook and Amber Thurby. They told him that Jose Gomez-Alvarez and Chyanne Porter had recently been staying at their address, along with their children. Gomez-Alvarez has three children from a previous relationship, Victim 1 (V1), Victim 2 (V2) and Victim 3 (V3), all reported to have been less than 12 years of age at all relevant times, as well as two other children with Porter, Witness 1 (W1) and Witness 2 (W2).
Thurby said all the children were present except for V1. Porter told Thurby that V1 was in the hospital. Thurby said V2 told her own children the reason V1 wasn’t with them was because Gomez-Alvarez and Porter killed her while they were living in Evansville, IN. V2 said Gomez-Alvarez and Porter put V1’s body in a plastic storage container, and brought it with them to Owensboro. V2 claimed the container was in a storage unit near the Days Inn on New Hartford Rd. Thurby said the family left her address before she could contact authorities.
Deputy Day made a social media post requesting any information as to the whereabouts of Gomez-Alvarez and Porter. He then made contact with Extra Space Storage at 3425 New Hartford Rd. and verified Porter had a unit at that facility that she acquired on 06/18/2022. Detective K. Skaggs obtained a search warrant for Porter’s unit which was executed on 10/03/2022. Several plastic storage containers were located inside the unit, including one wrapped in a black trash bag. The trash bag was removed to reveal the lid of the container was sealed with black electrical tape. When the lid was removed, deputies discovered severely decomposed human remains wrapped in white plastic inside the container. It was subsequently determined this was the body of Victim 1.
On 10/02/2022, Porter’s mother, Lisa Stinnett, contacted the Richmond Police Department after she saw the social media post about her daughter. Stinnett said Porter had her pick them up from Owensboro the day before, and she brought them back to her house in Richmond, KY. Richmond PD went to Stinnett’s address and made contact with Gomez-Alvarez and Porter, as well as V2, V3, W1 and W2. V1 was not located at the time.
After the body was discovered in Porter’s storage unit in Owensboro on 10/03/2022, Kentucky State Police returned to Stinnett’s address where Gomez-Alvarez and Porter were taken into custody. While at the residence, troopers spoke with Stinnett.
Stinnett told them that Porter called her and asked if she would come get her, Gomez-Alvarez and the children from Owensboro. Stinnett said V1 was not with the family when she picked them up. She said Porter told her that V1 was with Stinnett’s mother, Cathy Meadows. Stinnett said she and Meadows are not on speaking terms, so she wasn’t able to call and verify that. Stinnett said at the beginning of the summer, she had just reconnected with Porter herself, and at that time, Porter said V1 was having seizures and other medical issues. Porter mentioned living at a house in Evansville that got everyone sick. As a result, Porter told Stinnett they were staying at the Ronald McDonald house at Kosair Children’s Hospital in Louisville, KY. Stinnett said she traveled there on one occasion, and they were not registered.
Stinnett told troopers the last time she saw V1 in person was in the fall of 2020. After she picked up Porter from Owensboro, Porter insisted they get a letter she wrote notarized. The letter gave Stinnett the authority to care for her children. V2, V3, W1 and W2 were placed in the custody of KY DCS.
Gomez-Alvarez and Porter were transported to KSP Post 7 where they both voluntarily participated in interviews after being advised of the Miranda Warning.
KSP asked Gomez-Alvarez if he knew why he was being interviewed by detectives and he answered, “Something happened to her. That is all I can say.” When they asked who he was talking about, he said, “One of my kids,” and then gave V1’s name. Gomez-Alvarez proceeded to tell investigators how Porter suffered a miscarriage at the end of August, 2020. They had the baby’s body cremated in Owensboro and then moved into a house in Evansville around October, 2021. The address of this house was determined to be 3509 N Kentucky Ave., Evansville, Indiana.
Gomez-Alvarez said the house, located at 3509 N Kentucky Ave., Evansville, Indiana, had a basement that kept flooding. He said there was mold growing in the house and everyone got sick after they moved in. He said on 02/07/2022, he woke up when Porter left for work that morning. Gomez-Alvarez said V1, V2 and V3 would sleep on an air mattress in the living room, while W1 and W2 would sleep with him and Porter in the only bedroom in the house. Gomez-Alvarez said he checked on V1 and found her unresponsive. He said he tried CPR but he couldn’t “bring her back.” He called Porter and told her that something was wrong with V1. Porter returned home, but by that time it was too late and V1 had already “passed.” Gomez-Alvarez said he wrapped V1 in a blanket and placed her body in a plastic storage container. He said it was the same container being kept in their storage unit in Owensboro. He said their baby’s ashes were also in the unit in a separate container, and he and Porter wanted them to be together. Gomez-Alvarez said they didn’t tell anyone about V1’s death because they didn’t want to lose their other children. He said when any of the other children would ask where V1 was, they would tell them she was with her grandmother, Cathy Meadows.
Gomez-Alvarez said V1 appeared physically fine the day before she died. When asked how his children were punished, he claimed he didn’t even “whoop” them. Investigators asked him if Porter would ever get frustrated and hurt V1. Gomez-Alvarez replied, “Not that day.” They asked about any other days. He paused for a while and slowly said, “Just, like, probably a smack, but not like beat her almost to death.”
KSP asked Porter if she knew the address of the house they were renting in Evansville. She said it was 3509 N. Kentucky Ave. Like Gomez-Alvarez, Porter said the house had a basement that was flooded, and after they moved in, they all got sick and couldn’t figure out why. Despite having been sick, Porter said V1 was not sick just prior to her death. She said on 02/07/2022, she went to clean a relative’s house, and while she was away, she received a text from Gomez-Alvarez that something was wrong with V1. Porter said when she returned home, she found Gomez-Alvarez holding V1 in his arms. She said they tried to give her CPR, but it didn’t work. After realizing V1 was deceased, they wrapped her body in a blanket, then wrapped it in plastic, placed it in a plastic storage container and taped it up “really well.”
Porter said they moved out of the house immediately, and the container went with them wherever they would stay. In June, 2022, Porter said they moved into the Days Inn, and that’s when she rented the storage unit. Porter said they placed the container with V1 in it, along with the container that had the ashes of her baby, in the storage unit so they would be together and would be safe. Porter said they always planned on telling the authorities about V1’s death, but wanted to wait until they got their affairs in order before doing so. They also wanted the other children to be older in case they got into trouble and the children were removed from their care.
In a follow-up interview Detective Skaggs conducted with Porter, Porter said she didn’t know why V1 got sicker than the rest of their children. Porter acknowledged she never sought medical attention for any of the children while they lived at the house in Evansville. Porter also claimed she homeschooled all the children, which was the reason none of them attended school.
On 10/13/2022, V2, V3, W1 and W2 were transported to a child advocacy center where they each underwent forensic interviews. During V2’s interview, she claimed Gomez-Alvarez and Porter killed V1. V2 stated she was locked in the basement at the house in Evansville along with V1 and V3. V2 claimed they were not fed, and V1 was especially skinny. She said that is how V1 died, from not being fed. V2 claimed Gomez-Alvarez and Porter physically abused the three of them by hitting them, choking them and pulling their hair. She said W1 and W2 never got in trouble, and were loved by Porter unlike the three of them.
V2 was asked about the day V1 died. She said she woke up in the basement and saw Gomez-Alvarez and Porter staring at V1. She said Porter was mad. At one point, V2 said she went upstairs to sneak V1 some food, but when she tried giving it to her, V1 fell over and stopped breathing. V2 said Gomez-Alvarez began to cry but Porter did not. V2 said Porter laughed and said, “We killed one of them.” Then Gomez-Alvarez put V1 in a gray plastic tote with black tape on the lid. When they moved to the Days Inn in Owensboro, Gomez-Alvarez put the tote in the storage unit as if it was just another box of toys. V2 accused Gomez-Alvarez and Porter of killing their pet cats and dogs as well. She said they wouldn’t feed them and when they barked and meowed too much, they would choke them and kick them in the face. V2 stated she was afraid Porter was going to kill her.
At the beginning of the interview with V3, V3 interrupted the interviewer’s introduction and said, “Can I tell you something? My mom killed [V1] and then put her in the basement.” V3 identified his mother as Porter and his father as Gomez-Alvarez. V3 repeated that his mother killed V1 but his father didn’t kill her because he started to cry when he saw she was dead and he gave her CPR. V3 drew a picture of V1 during the interview, and then held it up and exclaimed how skinny she was. When asked about her being skinny, V3 replied, “My mom never fed her. She was very very skinny. She got skinny when my mom didn’t feed her.” When asked to name everybody that Porter didn’t feed, V3 said, “She didn’t feed me or [V2] or the dogs, and she didn’t give me or [V2] or [V1] any food.” The interviewer asked if W1 or W2 got any food. “She always did feed them, and when my mom went to sleep, my dad came to give me something to eat.”
V3 then mentioned being in the basement and described it as being flooded and full of worms. He said he woke up in the basement with V2 and V1 was already dead. V3 said he remembered Gomez-Alvarez and Porter being “mad, mad, mad, mad” the day V1 died, and arguing about stuff he and V2 didn’t do. V3 said Porter did not like V1 and would tell her, “I don’t care if you’re hungry.” V3 said Porter wanted to kill him and V2. When asked what made him think that, V3 said Porter would choke him on the neck. When asked how it felt, he stated it hurt. V3 was asked what made Porter stop choking him and he replied, “My dad. He said, ‘you’re about to kill him.’” V3 said he felt like he was going to die at the time.
V3 handed his drawing to the interviewer and she asked who the picture was of. He said V1. She asked what the object next to V1 was, and he said, “That’s a bag. The one she used to hide me food in.”
W1’s interview began with a question about where V1 was. W1 replied, “Dead. In the sky. She’s with our brother.” W1 talked about her baby brother that died, and said he was now in a tote at a storage building along with V1. Then she mentioned what she called the “wormy house.” She said she lived there with her family and if anyone goes inside, “they’ll get sick.” W1 said she slept with W2 and her mom and dad in the bedroom at that house. She identified her mom and dad as Porter and Gomez-Alvarez. W2 said V1, V2 and V3 all slept in the basement because they weren’t “real siblings.” She said only W2 and her deceased brother were her real siblings. W1 said V1, V2 and V3 were sent to the basement and didn’t get to eat when they were bad. W1 was asked what else happened when someone was bad. W1 replied, “Well, [Porter] usually whoops them and daddy just chokes them and that makes us cry, [W2] and me. And, well, I don’t want them to kill [V2] because she’s really nice. She plays with me.” W1 spoke of a time she witnessed Gomez-Alvarez choke V3 around the neck until his feet started “wiggling and jiggling.” She said V3 was pressed against the wall in the “infected house” and V1 was still in the basement when this happened.
When asked to tell more about V1 being in the basement, W1 said V1 was starting to get sick down there, and Gomez-Alvarez thought she was faking it. W1 said V2 and V3 then brought V1 upstairs and that’s when Gomez-Alvarez began giving her mouth to mouth and CPR. W1 said Gomez-Alvarez was crying. She said Porter was at the store when this happened, and when she got back, they put V1 in a tote full of water in order to give her a bath due to the house only having a shower and no bathtub. After that, W1 said she let V1 wear her princess dress since it was too small for her and since V1 didn’t have many clothes of her own. W1 said Gomez-Alvarez took V1 to the hospital and that was the last time she saw V1.
The interview with W2 was very brief due to his age and attention span. He was asked who is (sic) mother was and he answered Chyanne Porter. He was then asked to talk about Porter. The first thing W2 said was, “Momma gets mad at me and whoops [V2], [V3] and [V1].” W2 said V2 was his big sister and V1 was his little sister who was dead now.
In a follow-up interview Detective Skaggs conducted with Thurby, Thurby said she witnessed Porter withhold food from V1, V2 and V3 while they were all staying with her on a previous occasion. Thurby said if she gave the kids food without Porter’s permission, Porter would punish them by shoving them down or hitting them. Thurby said W1 and W2 never got in trouble or the same punishments as the other three. Thurby admitted she called social services several times to report the abuse.
Kentucky’s Department of Child Services had numerous assessments on file for Porter and Gomez-Alvarez, two of which were primarily concerned with welfare and mistreatment of V1. On 02/08/2021, a call to DCS alleged Porter calls V1 a “bitch,” makes her sleep on the floor and in feces, makes remarks she doesn’t want V1 in her home, puts V1, V2 and V3 in the closet when they misbehave and won’t feed them, “‘whoops” V1, and makes statements that she is exhausted of V1 and V1 makes her life miserable.
On 05/26/2021, a call to DCS alleged Porter keeps V1 locked in her room, smacks her around, tells V1 she’s the “Devil’s child,” and won’t let W1 and W2 play with V1. The caller also mentioned how V1 smears human feces on the walls. DCS never substantiated the claims, and only made contact with Porter and the children over the phone. 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.
I, Detective J. Helm, with the Evansville Police Department, was informed of the case by the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office. Sgt. J. Wilson made contact with the owner of the house located at 3509 N. Kentucky Ave. in Evansville and verified he rented it to Porter and Gomez-Alvarez on 10/15/2022. He said they fell behind on rent and then moved out without notice. The house was subsequently rented to another tenant.
On 10/11/2022, I went to 3509 N. Kentucky Ave. and met with Savannah Frederick. She moved into the house at the beginning of May, 2022. Frederick told me she initially thought the house was move-in-ready, but upon a walk through, found the house to be in complete disrepair. When I asked her about the basement, she said the floor was covered in feces that she had to clean up. Frederick provided pictures of the house that she took at the time she first saw it.
Frederick allowed a Crime Scene Detective and myself to enter the house and take pictures of it in its current condition. She said she re-modeled the bedroom, bathroom and living room, but besides being cleaned, the kitchen and basement were the same as they were when she moved in. The door to the basement was located in the kitchen, near the back door to the house. There were wooden steps that led down to the basement. On the very bottom step, I observed a small foot print made from white paint, as if a child had stepped in paint and then stepped on the stairs. Frederick said the footprint was already there when she moved in. The basement was open and had no rooms or windows. It had a concrete floor and concrete walls. The floor was dry and there was a sump pump well located in one corner. I observed crayon drawings/markings made on cinder blocks in the basement. On the back of the basement door, the side facing the stairs, I observed brown colored finger marks/prints, all below the height of the door knob.
Your Affiant believes that all of the persons named above speak from personal knowledge and observation and are reliable and credible in that they relayed this information to your Affiant during the course of your Affiant’s duties as a law enforcement officer engaged in the investigation of this offense in an effort to aid in said investigation. Your Affiant believes that there is a factual basis for the above information in that the information given by each individual is corroborated by that given by the other. Any statements made by individuals who spoke after having been given a Miranda advisement is credible for the additional reason the above listed individuals are speaking against their penal interests after having been advised of their Miranda Rights.
The above-described events took place in Vanderburgh County, Indiana.
