On May 22, 2013, an eight-year-old boy in California, Gabriel Fernandez, was murdered. He was abused and tortured for 8 months by his father, with the consent of his mother, because they believed he was gay. His mother was sentenced to life imprisonment and his father to death. …
The course of Gabriel Fernandez
Gabriel was born on February 20, 2005 in Pearl, California. His biological mother, Pearl Fernandez, gave custody to his uncle, Michael, who lived with his partner David. Fernandez had two other brothers. His teacher at school said that the boy was polite and liked school. Gabriel’s grandfather did not want the child to grow up in a gay environment and so he took care of him in 2009. But his mother, in 2012, decided to take care of him, in order to receive the social allowance επί.
The abuse
The little boy moved to the family of his mother who had married Isauro Aguirre. He stayed with them for eight months. He endured so much torture from both parents. His father told him that he was abusing him because he believed he was gay. He was eight years old the day he died. To cover their tracks, they called an ambulance and reported that Gabriel had slipped and hit his head. After a forensic examination, it turned out that the cause of death was a blow with a blunt object, combined with neglect and malnutrition. It was 1.24m high. and weighed about 25 pounds. The necropsy was completed in two days, as the body was deformed from the abuse. A prosecutor during the trial said that Gabriel was tortured even worse by a prisoner of war. He was forced to eat the sand and feces of the cat. To consume his own vomit, spoiled or expired food, to wear women’s clothes but also to sleep tied up and gagged in a closet. He was severely beaten and many bones were broken. He had injuries in various parts of his body, but also in the face from an airgun. They sprayed it with pepper and burned it with a cigarette. His brothers stated that their parents were laughing while torturing him….
The profile of the perpetrators
Pearl Fernandez had a bad childhood, with her father going to jail and her mother beating her. At the age of nine, he started drinking and using methamphetamine. At eleven, she left home and after a while dropped out of school. Her uncle tried to rape her and some men held her hostage for several days, raping her successively. He thought many times to commit suicide….
- Army arrests president, prime minister, defense minister
- 14 dead in attack in area where crops are found
- More than 200 injured in accident
After the death of her child, Pearl was diagnosed with a variety of mental health problems including depressive disorder, developmental disability, possible personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder and inability to control her behavior and emotional reactions. Isauro Aguirre repeated two classes in school and eventually dropped out due to a possible learning disability. He worked in a retirement hostel for three years. Colleagues said he was patient, kind and always willing to help.
Aguirre met Pearl Fernandez about a year and a half before they took over Gabriel. He is awaiting execution from 2018, when he was sentenced to death.
Testimonies of other persons, the trial and the Social Workers
Several neighbors had reported signs of Gabriel abuse to the authorities without result. A few days after the death of the 8-year-old boy, his teacher went to his desk and found a hidden note. He wrote “I love you mom, Gabriel is a good kid”. Speaking at the trial, she described her little boy asking her questions that upset her, such as “Is it normal for mothers to hit their children?” and “Is it normal to be hit with a belt and fuck?” Gabriel’s story sparked research into the effectiveness of social services in Los Angeles. The case was mediated by four social workers who were prosecuted by the Supreme Court. The facts are presented in the documentary “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez”….
