While the human remains found Monday haven’t been officially identified, documents suggest they belong to a 9-year-old girl that died in a home in Evansville. Affidavits obtained Wednesday indicate Jose Elipidio Gomez-Alvarez and Chyanne Porter concealed and transported the body to Owensboro; both are facing felony charges. (Note: Many of the details in this story are graphic.)
As shown in greater detail below, documents indicate that both Gomez-Alvarez and Porter knew the 9-year-old died, but did not alert police and instead worked “in concert” with one another to ultimately place the body in a tote that was then put in a storage facility.
Officials have not confirmed that human remains that were found belong to the 9-year-old. (The autopsy results have not been released as of the time of publication of this story, so no other details are yet available regarding the remains.)
Gomez-Alvarez and Porter are both now lodged at the Daviess County Detention Center and face charges of Abuse of Corpse and Tampering with Physical Evidence, both of which are Class D felonies. They were both arraigned Wednesday morning and are being held on $100,000 cash bonds. Both are scheduled to appear in court again on Oct. 12 for a preliminary hearing.
Separate affidavits and arrest warrants were completed for Gomez-Alvarez and Porter, each with varying details of the case.
According to documents, the local investigation began when Daviess County Deputy Deputy Russ K. Day was dispatched to the 6800 block of Hwy 2830. The arrest warrant for Porter said Day responded to a welfare check, while the warrant against Gomez-Alvarez said Day was dispatched in reference to a missing person.
According to both affidavits, Day spoke to a juvenile female on scene. That juvenile said she had been speaking to two other juveniles, sisters ages 11 and 8.
Documents say the juvenile advised Day that the sisters “had told her about their current and prior living arrangements and their sister, [a 9-year-old] who had died at their home in Evansville.
According to documents, the three sisters lived with their biological father Gomez-Alvarez and his girlfriend Porter in Evansville. According to one affidavit, Day has spoken with the biological mother of the three sisters and she confirmed the children had been residing with Gomez-Alvarez. She also advised that Gomez-Alvarez had sole custody of the children after their divorce, and had last seen them approximately 4 years ago.
According to an affidavit, the two sisters told the juvenile “that they were neglected and not cared for well by their father or his girlfriend” and “on one occasion after being locked in the basement of their residence for an extended period of time [the 9-year old] began having convulsions and ultimately died.”
The affidavit then says “When Porter returned home, she bound [the 9-year-old’s] body in wrapping and placed the body in a plastic tub with the bodies of other dead cats and dogs. She then closed the lid and secured the lid with duct tape. At some point thereafter, the tub was then stored at a storage unit in Owensboro by Days Inn.”
The affidavit leading to the warrant for Gomez-Alvarez’s arrest alleges that he acted in concert with his Porter “to seal the tote, so as to conceal the body, then concealed the tote in a black trash bag at which point it was transported to” a residence in Owensboro, where the two “stayed in a room of a single family residence at that location.”
According to that affidavit, on approximately August 15, Gomez-Alvarez and Porter moved the body to Extra Space Storage on New Hartford Road in Owensboro.
DCSO ultimately contacted Extra Space Storage, confirming Porter had a unit at the facility. The affidavit leading to Porter’s arrest warrant says “she was several months behind on rent. They had locked her out of the unit and were in the process of auctioning off the property in the unit.”
Management then opened the locker and upon entry, Day “noticed several plastic totes, but only one was enclosed in a black trash bag,” according to the affidavit.
According to documents, Day obtained a search warrant for the locker and upon reentering retrieved the tote and removed it from the trash bag it was in.
“The tote was sealed with multiple layers of duct tape completely around the lid as well as over the lid,” according to the affidavit. “After opening the lid, Deputy Day found what he believed to be a layer of lime on top of a sheet of plastic. Immediately underneath the plastic was a blood and fluid soaked blanket. Deputy Day then found another blanket which contained the remains of what was believed to be the body of [the 9-year-old].”
One affidavit further says members of DCSO “located apparent human remains including a skull in a storage tub.”
Unrelated to Day’s investigation, the Madison County Sheriff’s Office in Berea responded to a welfare check at a residence in Madison County on October 2, with the call coming from Porter’s mother, according to Porter’s arrest warrant.
Per the affidavit, deputies arrived and noted the presence of the 11- and 8-year old sisters and two other children of Porter, but not the 9-year-old.
“Chyanne’s mother advised that Chyanne had called her and asked her to come get her and the kids,” according to the affidavit. “Chyanne indicated police were looking for her and she was not ready to turn herself in. Chyanne also then gave her mother a written note in which she stated multiple times that ‘she did not hurt her.’”
Documents show that Gomez-Alvarez and Porter were arrested Monday in Richmond, Kentucky, where they were interviewed by Kentucky State Police detectives.
According to an affidavit, Gomez-Alvarez admitted to KSP that he was aware the 9-year-old had gone unconscious, and “that CPR was attempted on the child, but she ultimately died in the home in Evansville.”
The affidavit says Gomez-Alvarez “further confirmed that he was afraid to report the death, fearing that he would be in trouble.”
The investigation is ongoing.
