Anthony Avalos' family and friends celebrate what would have been his 15th birthday

LANCASTER, Calif. (KABC) -- On Saturday, loved ones remembered Anthony Avalos with a birthday celebration, five years after he was brutally murdered.

The Lancaster boy was just 10 years old when he was killed in 2018, in one of the most haunting cases of child abuse L.A. County has ever seen.

Family and friends gathered at the Anthony Avalos Memorial Tree in Lancaster to keep his memory alive.

"We're just celebrating, and giving thanks for his life. And how he has impacted so many of us, even though we might have not met him personally, he's impacted our lives," said Myra, Anthony's relative.

Just last week, Avalos' mother and boyfriend were sentenced to life without parole for his murder.

He would have turned 15 years old this week.