The story of young Gabriel Fernandez, recently, released in the form a documentary on Netflix has touched the hearts of many. For some this is the first time hearing this story. For others who were previously familiar with this story I’m sure that watching this documentary has made you re-live this traumatic incident.
What is an eight-year-old to do when the person who birthed him couldn’t find it in her heart to love him? Or when a system that was set in place to protect him, fails him time and time again? What is life for an eight-year-old that has to endure constant pain; emotionally, physically, and mentally?
Young Gabriel Fernandez
Your guess is just as good as mine. Gabriel Fernandez was born to a mother, Pearl Fernandez, that didn’t know how to love him. She contemplated abortion on several occasions and would have gone through with it had her uncle had not convinced her to have the baby. By the grace of a higher power, he convinced Pearl to have the baby and let him and his partner raise it. A guy that Pearl was dating at the time, not the father of her child, loved angels and asked her to name the child Gabriel.
At just three days old, she called her uncle and told him, “come get your baby, he won’t shut up. All he does is cry!” That should have been a red flag that not only was she unfit, but she wasn’t ready to take care of a kid.
For years Pearl’s relatives took care of her children. Until at some point, she decided to get her other two children and raise them under her own roof. Not long after, she took Gabriel from her uncle and his partner. It was later revealed that her reasoning for taking them into her care was so that she could get money and assistance from the state.
A Cry for Help
Gabriel was known as a loving, happy, and helpful child. However, the last eight months of his life, while in his mother’s care, proved to be enough to bring even the highest of spirits down.
While in Pearl’s care, Gabriel endured countless beatings at the hands of her and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre. From cigarette burns, being made to eat kitty litter, being confined to a box handcuffed and gagged and being choked were just some of the things the young boy had to endure. There was one instance where Pearl herself, hit Gabriel in the mouth with a bat knocking out his teeth. Do you think she cared enough to take him to the doctor? Not even!
On several occasions, Gabriel told his teacher what was going on, and she reported it time and time again. Only for the police to sweep it under the rug. There were several instances where Pearl had Gabriel accompany her to the Department of Family Services Office. Several social workers witnessed the young boy with bruises, black eyes, and cigarette burns in his head. Yet and still, no one reported it. No one in DFS correctly filled out the paperwork to document all of the bruises. Reports even revealed that several social workers falsified paperwork to make it look as if they’d done thorough investigations and due diligence. However, those investigations never took place.
Gabriel did all that he could as a child to get help. He told! Not once, not twice, but several times. However, the fact of the matter is that the system failed him. They didn’t want to put in the time it would take or pay the workers overtime to put in the proper work to ensure Gabriel’s safety.
The Night of Gabriel’s Death
Gabriel’s condition on the night the paramedics picked his unresponsive body up from his home was horrific.
Pearl’s children testified that on the night in question, Isauro repeatedly beat Gabriel with his fist. He continued to beat Gabriel even after the first blow knocked the wind out of him and sent him crashing to the ground. Reports confirmed that on this particular night, Isauro punched, an eight-year-old Gabriel, in the face ten times. He also punched him in the body twenty times; all while Pearl stood by and did nothing. It wasn’t until after they noticed that Gabriel wasn’t getting up that Pearl decided to call law enforcement. But, not before she instructed her oldest son to cosign her story that he and Gabriel were play wrestling and Gabriel fell on a coffee table or something of the sort. She then instructed her daughter to grab a towel and help her clean all the blood from the floor.
Related: Her Mother: Oklahoma Couple Arrested For Sexual Abuse On An 8 Year Old
I know you’re probably reading this article wondering why? Well, according to the documentary, they were upset with the fact that Gabriel was gay. No, there wasn’t any evidence that confirmed that he was gay. The only connection I saw, from the documentary, was the fact that Gabriel’s great uncle, who raised him the first few years of his life, was gay. He and his partner took Gabriel in at only three days old. They loved and adored him and hated it when Pearl decided to take him.
Gabriel was a child that came into this world, not knowing what it was like to have a mother to love him. On May 22, 2013, he died being a child still longing for the love and acceptance of his mother.
The Judge’s Final Words to Isauro and Pearl
I can only imagine what was going through the judge’s mind when he said “you wanna say that the conduct was animalistic, but that would be wrong. ‘Cause even animals know how to take care of their young.”
It was evident that neither Pearl nor Isauro was fit to raise a child.
The Verdict
Isauro Aguirre, also known as Shaggy to his coworkers, was eventually found guilty of murder in the first degree. The judge and jury sentenced him to death.
Pearl, on the other hand, entered into a plea deal. She pled guilty to the murder of her son, Gabriel Fernandez. She pled guilty to avoid the death penalty. She was sentenced to life in prison.
As for the four social workers that were on trial for child abuse and falsifying records in the case of Gabriel Fernandez, their cases were dismissed on January 6, 2020.
I don’t know if Pearls’ actions had anything to do with the fact that she was deemed incompetent. But, these sentences are not enough to honor the beautiful boy we once knew as Gabriel Fernandez.
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