WCDA Sentencing Release

Guilty Verdict and Life with Parole Sentence in Tragic Murder of 5-Year-Old Cali Anderson

Washoe County District Attorney Chris Hicks has announced that Averyauna Cheyenne Enoch (Anderson), age 26, from Reno has been found guilty of 1^st Degree Murder and sentenced to life with the possibility of parole after a three-week jury trial that ended today. The jury deliberated close to 5 hours yesterday afternoon before finding Enoch guilty of one count of 1^st Degree Murder, one count of Child Endangerment and one count of Destruction of Evidence for having starved her 5-year-old stepdaughter Cali Anderson, to death and attempting to cover up the crime. Enoch’s husband at the time, Tyler Jermaine Anderson, age 25, was a co-defendant in the case and pled guilty in January to one count of 2^nd Degree Murder and one count of Destruction of Evidence. Anderson is scheduled to be sentenced later this year and faces up to life in prison with the possibility of parole. Based on the 1^st degree murder conviction, Enoch was sentenced by the jury today to a term of life in prison with the possibility of parole. Enoch will be sentenced at a later date for the remaining charges.

In commenting on the verdict and sentence, District Attorney Hicks stated, “Cali died mercilessly at the hands of those who should be the very first to protect her.  No child should ever suffer the way she did and our entire community mourns her death.  The verdict and sentence reached today was only a small measure of justice for her.” 

This case began in May 2018 when detectives with the Sacramento Police Department discovered the partially decomposed body of a child inside a duffel bag within a plastic drum inside a storage unit. The owner of the storage unit had discovered the body after he became suspicious of an acquaintance (Anderson) who had asked to store items within the unit.  This prompted the owner to look into the items, which led to the discovery of the victim and the identification of Tyler Anderson and Averyauna Enoch as suspects. Detectives with the Reno Police Department Robbery Homicide Unit began an extensive investigation and determined that the victim had died of severe malnourishment and showed signs of abuse. The victim weighed just 16 pounds and her height was below the 3^rd percentile for her age category at autopsy. The defendants were subsequently arrested and this office filed formal charges of murder against them.

During trial, Chief Deputy District Attorney (CDDA) Kelly Kossow presented the jury with evidence showing how severely malnourished the victim had been and the timeframe in which the starvation would have taken place. The jury also heard evidence about the victim being kept in a wire animal cage within the family’s apartment, handcuffed and restrained inside. CDDA Kossow argued that Enoch and Anderson first starved Calie then worked together to cover up the crime. At today’s sentencing hearing she further argued for a sentence of life without the possibility of parole.