Gabriel Fernandez died May 2013 after the young boy was routinely beaten, starved, forced to sleep in a closet and tortured.
Gabriel Fernandez died May 2013 after the young boy was routinely beaten, starved, forced to sleep in a closet and tortured.Pearl Sinthia Fernandez made an appearance in Lancaster Superior Court, where her arraignment was postponed.
Tuesday, May 28, 2013. Fernandez, along with her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, were charged today with capital murder in the beating of the Fernandez’s 8-year-old son, who died last week. The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of torture. The District Attorney’s Office will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against the pair. A Palmdale woman who pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the torture death of her 8-year-old son was denied re-sentencing again Monday by a judge in Los Angeles. Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, 42, was sentenced in March 2018 to life in prison without the possibility of parole for the May 2013 killing of her son,contending that she could not now be convicted of murder, citing recent changes in state law that affect defendants in some murder cases.Her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, now 45, was sentenced to death. His automatic appeal to the California Supreme Court is pending. Gabriel was routinely beaten, starved, forced to sleep in a closet and tortured until his death nearly 13 years ago, according to investigators. In June 2021, Fernandez's first petition was denied by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli. The decision came after a review of the petition and the overall record of the case, the judge said, noting that Fernandez had agreed to waive any and all of her appellate rights at the time of her February 2018 guilty plea. "It has been established by her own admission during her guilty plea that the murder was intentional and involved the infliction of torture over a period of several months," the judge said at the June 2021 hearing, In the latest petition, Fernandez claimed the state-appointed defense attorney"provided ineffective assistance of counsel" and that she was"coerced" into signing a guilty plea. Fernandez noted that she had received assistance with the new petition, which said that"the petitioner has comprehension issues and documented verbal comprehension of a second-grade student" and that she was"mistakenly under the impression that her case would then be going to appeal" when she signed the plea agreement. Gabriel was 7 when the abuse began, according to investigators. Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel responded to the family's northern Los Angeles County home May 22, 2013 after a report that Gabriel was not breathing. He was declared brain-dead that day and taken off life support two days later. Fernandez and Aguirre were arrested and an outcry over the handling of the case by Los Angeles County social workers, who had multiple contacts with the family, led to an investigation into the agency's involvement and criminal charges against two former social workers and their two supervisors. That case was subsequentlyafter a state appeals court panel found that the four"never had the requisite duty to control the abusers and did not have care or custody of Gabriel" for purposes of the child abuse charge leveled against them. In a statement before she was sentenced, Fernandez said,"I want to say I'm sorry to my family for what I did … I wish Gabriel was alive. Every day I wish that I made better choices." At the March 2018 sentencing for Fernandez and Aguirre, the judge described the case as"the most aggravated and egregious case of torture this court has ever witnessed."
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
San Gabriel Valley sees surge in ‘eye-biting' black fliesEye-biting black flies are surging in the San Gabriel Valley. Here's how to protect yourself from their painful bites.
Read more »
Dominic Smith delivers historic Braves walk-off just 2 weeks after his mother's deathBraves designated hitter Dominic Smith’s mother died less than two weeks ago. He said the team has picked him up the last few weeks, and he returned the favor Saturday night. Smith became the first player in MLB history to hit a walk-off grand slam in his debut with a new team, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Read more »
Braves' Dominic Smith hits walk-off home run nearly 2 weeks after mother's deathFox News Channel offers its audiences in-depth news reporting, along with opinion and analysis encompassing the principles of free people, free markets and diversity of thought, as an alternative to the left-of-center offerings of the news marketplace.
Read more »
The Last of Us' Uncertain Future on HBO: Creator Exits and Production ConcernsGabriel Luna as Tommy Miller in season 2 of The Last of Us
Read more »
Mother reportedly warned about dangerous cooking habits before fire killed 2 daughtersA California couple has been arrested on suspicion of being criminally responsible for a deadly fire in December that killed two of their daughters.
Read more »
Resentencing petition for Gabriel Fernandez's mother denied after guilty plea in 8-year-old's 2013 murderPearl Fernandez, 42, and her boyfriend tortured the 8-year-old in the days and months leading up to his death.
Read more »