ALBANY - A five-year-old boy was beaten to death while living with his father in Livingston Parish, according to WFIE. 

Family members told the news station that Leo was living with his father, Joseph Eslinger, and his father's girlfriend, Diana Lopez, at a home in Bankston's Mobile Home Park in Albany. 

Kristi Held, Leo’s Great Aunt, lives in Indiana—where Leo is from. He was moved in 2023 with his two siblings after his mother went to jail, his parents got divorced and custody was awarded to Joseph Eslinger. 

Held and Leo's grandmother Sherri Eslinger fought to have custody of the children and said they had reported prior abuse that was never taken seriously by law enforcement. 

On Dec. 28, the women got a call from Louisiana's DCFS, saying that Leo had been airlifted from his home to a hospital in New Orleans. They said he was on a ventilator and may not be alive by the time they got to Louisiana. He died three days later.

Held told WFIE that doctors said Leo sustained three brain bleeds, a puncture wound, widespread bruising, and over 50 loop marks, which are made when someone is beaten with a doubled-over cord.

Both Joseph Eslinger and Diana Lopez were arrested and booked in the Livingston Parish jail for cruelty to juveniles with major injury. They are both being held without bond. 

WBRZ has made multiple attempts to reach the Livingston Parish District Attorney for more details on why those charges have not been upgraded. No response has been given. 

According to a GoFundMe made by the family, Leo's body will be transported from Louisiana to Indiana, where he will be buried.