Recently, Netflix aired a documentary called The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez. Gabriel Fernandez was 8 years old when he was brutally killed by his mother, Pearl Fernandez, and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre. His mother did not want him when he was born and decided to give him to his uncle. After years of living with his uncle, his mom decided she wanted him back and had him for less than a year. In the months he was with his mom and her boyfriend, they were abusing him nonstop. They went as far as feeding him kitty litter and locking him in a cabinet during the day and at night. His teacher noticed the bruises and called social services in order to help Gabriel. When he was given a social worker, she didn’t try to help the child. The social worker went to Gabriel’s house and when asked how Gabriel got his bruises, Perla always replied with “he fell down when he was playing.”
On May 24, 2013, Gabriel was rushed to the hospital because he stopped breathing. When they got to the hospital, it was too late to save him and was pronounced dead. Doctors noticed bruises and cuts on his body showing that this had been going on for a while and ruled his death a murder. Pearl Fernandez and Isauro Aguirre were convicted of his murder as well as the social workers. Pearl Fernandez was found guilty of the murder of her child and was sentenced to life in prison without parole. Isauro Aguirre is being held on death row. The social workers had chargers against them, but in February the charges were dropped against them.
I'm glad that Gabriel's "parents" suffered consequences for their actions. I remember reading about this and it was very sad to hear that a mother could do this to her own child. I definitely feel like the social workers did a poor job in investigating this and if they had really looked into it, maybe Gabriel wouldn't have passed away. I don't think they should be charged with aiding to his murder but they shouldn't keep their jobs if this is how they do it.
ReplyDeleteWhile I am glad that the people directly responsible for his death are being punished, I feel that those who failed to help when they had the chance should also be punished and that it is a shame that the charges against the social workers have been dropped.
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