VANDERBURGH COUNTY, Ind. (WEHT) – Two people have been charged after human remains were found in an Owensboro storage unit earlier this month.
31- year old Jose Gomez-Alvarez and 27-year-old Chyanne Porter were arrested in Berea, KY after the remains were found in a tote bag inside of the storage facility. Authorities say that the storage unit was rented out by Porter.
Arrest warrants have now been issued in Vanderburgh County for the couple. Court documents show they face a long list of charges, including neglect of a dependent resulting in death and abuse of a corpse.
According to an affidavit, the remains were identified as the child of Gomez-Alvarez, and family members claim the remains are of 9-year-old Alianna Maya Gomez-Alvarez. Police say Jose Gomez-Alvarez told KSP he woke up on February 7 and found the child unresponsive, and that he attempted CPR, but couldn’t “bring her back.” Jose told police he wrapped the child in a blanket and placed her body in a storage container. According to officials, Jose said he didn’t tell anyone about the child’s death because the couple didn’t want to lose their other children.
Documents say Porter told KSP they moved out of the home they were staying at when the child died, and the container “went with them wherever they would stay.” Porter reportedly told police they always planned on telling the authorities about the child’s death, but wanted to wait until they got their affairs in order before doing so, and that they also wanted the other children to be older in case the children were removed from their care.
Police say Jose’s other two children claimed during an interview that Gomez-Alvarez and Porter killed the child and were physically abusive. An affidavit says the children claimed they were locked in the basement of their home and were not fed. Alianna Maya Gomez-Alvarez’s great-aunt Tina McStoots says she believed Porter always “held a difference” between the two children she had with Gomez-Alvarez and the three children he had from a prior relationship.
McStoots claims the three children, known as Victim 1, 2, and 3 in court records, were kept hungry, the house was poorly kept, and photos she saw showed Alianna was losing weight.
In the months after Victim 1 died, McStoots says family and friends tried to check on them, but were told Alianna was either in the hospital, with her grandfather, or with her friends.
McStoots says she personally called and wrote to Child Protective Services, asking them to check on the children. Court records indicate they did follow up on those claims, but nothing was ever “substantiated” and the family was only ever contacted by phone. McStoots says Porter bragged on Facebook about how she could “fool” them by “telling them what they want to hear.”
According to the affidavit, Jose also had two children with Porter, who told investigators the other three children were kept in the basement because they weren’t “real siblings.” You can read the affidavit in the window below.
WARNING: Content may be disturbing to some readers
This is a developing story, Eyewitness News will provide updates as more information becomes available.
