A Kentucky couple who were arrested in 2022 for concealing a child’s body in a storage unit have pleaded guilty to all charges and received their sentences. Jose Gomez-Alvarez and Chyanne Porter were taken into custody on September 30, 2022, after deputies from the Daviess County Sheriff’s Department discovered human remains inside a storage unit rented by the couple.
According to a criminal complaint obtained by WEHT, the discovery came after a missing person report led authorities to the couple’s home. The complaint states that Alvarez and Porter were caring for multiple children while living a transient lifestyle. When authorities initially questioned the couple about the missing girl, Porter claimed the child was in the hospital.
However, further investigation led deputies to a storage unit in Owensboro. There, police found human remains inside a tote container. When questioned, Alvarez and Porter admitted that the 9-year-old girl had died on February 7, 2022. According to their account, Alvarez discovered the girl unresponsive while Porter was at work.
Alvarez allegedly attempted CPR and contacted Porter but did not notify authorities. The couple said they feared reporting her death would result in the removal of their other children. In a chilling admission, the couple explained that after failing to revive the child, they wrapped her body in a blanket and stored it in the rented unit.
However, court documents reveal a more disturbing pattern of abuse. The couple’s other children provided statements alleging that Alvarez and Porter routinely withheld food, choked them, and forced them to sleep in the basement. Documents also indicate that only Alvarez’s children were subjected to abuse, not Porter’s.
At the time, the couple had five children in their care—three of Alvarez’s and two of Porter’s, all from previous relationships. Chyanne Porter pleaded guilty to charges of abuse of a corpse, tampering with physical evidence, and two counts of criminal abuse of a child under 12 years old. She was sentenced to seven years in prison.
Jose Gomez-Alvarez pleaded guilty to abuse of a corpse and tampering with physical evidence. The case sheds light on a heartbreaking situation of neglect and abuse that authorities believe had persisted long before the tragic discovery.