The six-part Netflix docuseries The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez examines a highly-publicized 2013 murder case, one that involves a mother torturing and killing her son. So, how was she punished? The backstory is rather complex, as the victim never lived with his birth father and only briefly lived with his mother. The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez released on Netflix in February 2020.
In May 2013, Gabriel died two days after being found with a fractured skull and broken ribs. Authorities initially believed the boy might’ve been suffering from a disease, but soon discovered that he’d been tortured over the course of several months before his death. In the doc, Gabriel’s teacher reveals that he’d been coming to school with visible injuries, and even admitted to being shot in the face with a BB gun. Despite phone calls to social workers, Gabriel was continuously abused by mother Pearl and her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre, and ultimately beaten to death. Filmmaker Brian Knappenberger directed the Netflix docuseries The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez.
The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez on Netflix reveals that Pearl had an extremely low IQ, and that she took part in the repeated torture of her son. So, how did she retain custody of Gabriel, and who watched the boy for the first seven years of his life? Here’s what happened to Pearl, Aguirre, and Gabriel’s real father.
Aguirre admitted to beating Gabriel to death, and was subsequently charged with first-degree murder three months after the initial crime. The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez documents the legal proceedings, along with the jury’s deliberations about whether or not Aguirre intended to kill the victim. In November 2017, Aguirre was convicted and later given the death sentence.
Pearl Fernandez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February 2018. She was reportedly concerned after the outcome of Aguirre’s trial, and admitted to both torturing and killing Gabriel. Pearl was sentenced to life in prison without parole, and avoided death row because prosecutors factored in her low intelligence. The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez on Netflix suggests that Pearl and Aguirre related to each other by inflicting pain on others - in this case, an eight-year-old boy who was fed dirty cat littler, locked in a box, handcuffed, burned with cigarettes, and shot with a BB gun. Meanwhile, the inadequacy of social workers meant that warning signs, as shown in the Netflix docuseries, were either ignored or categorized as “accidents.”
Three days after Gabriel was born in 2005, he was given away by Pearl to her uncle and his partner. Four years later, Gabriel’s grandparents gained custody upon concerns that the boy was being raised by a gay couple. In October 2012, Gabriel moved in with his mother and spent the last months of his life in Palmdale, California.
Gabriel’s real father, Arnold Contreras, appears in The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez on Netflix. He’s portrayed as a loving father, one who was incarcerated at the time of his son’s murder.
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