Affidavit: Child’s body placed in tote, left in storage facility

DAVIESS CO., Ky. (WFIE) - Authorities say they found a child’s remains inside a tote in a storage unit in Daviess County.

Investigators say the 9-year old’s father, Jose Gomez-Alvarez and his girlfriend, Cheyanne Porter, are being held on tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse charges.

Officials say Alianna Maya Gomez-Alvarez was nine-years-old when she went missing in November of 2021.

According to the arrest citation, when law enforcement were on-scene looking into a missing-persons report, one of Alianna’s siblings told them that Alianna had died in their home in Evansville, and pointed them in the direction of the storage units.

There, deputies say they found human remains in a tote wrapped in a blanket, leading to the subsequent arrest of Gomez-Alvarez and Porter.

We spoke with Alianna’s Great Aunt, Tina McStoots, about her reaction when she found out what had happened.

“Hurt, really hurt. No words can describe the pain, I’m telling you... I can’t,” said McStoots.

She shared photos of Alianna from when she was younger.

Deputies say Alianna’s siblings said they were not well cared for and Alianna died of convulsions after being locked in the basement for an extended period of time.

Deputies say Gomez-Alvarez told them he was afraid he would get in trouble if he reported the death.

The storage facility where the tote was found, Extra Space Storage, says they are working with authorities and released this statement:

“Extra Space is working with authorities to assist in the investigation in any way we can. Our facility is closed and remains closed until cleared by local authorities – we will keep in close contact with our customers. We are grateful to the Daviess County Sheriff’s Office for their work on the case. This is a tragedy for the community, and our heart is with those mourning.”

The investigation into the case is still ongoing.

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