Netflix’s six-part docuseries,The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez, examines the abuse and systemic failure that led to the brutal death of a California 8-year-old in 2013.
The series, which began streaming Feb. 26, traces the horrorGabrielendured at the hands of his mother,Pearl Fernandez, and her boyfriend,Isauro Aguirre. Each was convicted of first-degree murder with the special circumstance of torture.
At the couple’s sentencing, Los Angeles County Judge George G. Lomelicalled the violencethe boy suffered “horrendous, inhumane and nothing short of evil.”
Here are six things to know about the disturbing case.
1. Gabriel Was Fatally Beaten After He Didn’t Clean Up His Toys
On May 22, 2013,Gabrielwas found naked, with a cracked skull, shattered ribs, severe burns andBB pellets buried in his bodyat his family’s home in Palmdale. He was declared brain dead and taken off life support two days later.
The day he was reported unresponsive, his mother and Aguirre beat him fiercely after he didn’t clean up his toys,theLos Angeles Timesreported.
2. Parents Laughed During Abuse, Brother Testified
Gabriel’solder brother testifiedthat Gabriel was forced to eat cat feces and cat litter and prosecutors said he “slept bound and gagged inside a small cabinet.”
The brother also testified, “My mom and her boyfriend made Gabriel eat spoiled stuff or expired stuff.”
The teen, who was 12 years old when Gabriel died, said his mother and her boyfriend had threatened to beat him up if he alerted people to Gabriel’s abuse and told him to lie to social workers if they asked about how Gabriel received his injuries.
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He told the jury that his mother and Aguirre focused their wrath on Gabriel and didn’t abuse him or his sister.
The couple would laugh during the beatings, the brother testified.
3. Mom’s Boyfriend Beat Gabriel Because He Thought He Was Gay: Prosecutors
The director of the Netflix series, Brian Knappenberger, tells PEOPLE, “What we do know is that he called him gay when he was beating him.”
Knappenberger added, “It’s one of the first things he told the first responders when the first responders entered the house and were trying to save Gabriel’s life. So take from that which you will, but it certainly played a role.”
4. Deputies Visited Gabriel’s Home Multiple Times ‘But Found No Signs of Abuse’
The paper reported earlier this year that “deputies visited Gabriel’s home multiple times … [but] found no signs of abuse and did not file paperwork that would have led specially trained detectives to do more investigating.”
Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty
Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times/Getty
“I think Gabriel could have been saved about a dozen different ways and that’s what’s so intense and so heartbreaking about his story,” Knappenberger, who also directed the 2017 Netflix documentaryNobody Speak: Trials of the Free Press, tells PEOPLE.
5. Mom Got Life in Prison, Boyfriend Got Death Sentence
At the couple’s sentencing, Judge Lomeli told them, “I hope you think about the pain you caused this child and that it tortures you,“theLos Angeles Timesreports.
The judge called the abuse Gabriel suffered “horrendous, inhumane and nothing short of evil.”
He then sentenced Fernandez to life in prison and ordered Aguirre be put to death.
6. Director: Gabriel Was Full of ‘Warmth and Potential’
Knappenberger, citing court records, tells PEOPLE Gabriel’s mother “took him back for welfare money, that she wanted extra welfare money.”
Netflix
Knappenberger says Gabriel came from a fractured home environment and was shuffled between relatives before going back to his mother and Aguirre.
“At one point he was with his uncle and his partner and during that period of time, there’s no question, he seems happy,” says Knappenberger. “He seems like a young, curious kid. I think you see that in a lot of the pictures of Gabriel. If you look at him, it’s easy to understand the kind of warmth and potential he had.”
The Trials of Gabriel Fernandezbegan streaming on Netflix on Feb. 26.
source: people.com
