When it comes to the description of first-degree murders, Pearl Fernandez’s account of the horrific torture she inflicted on her 8-year-old son has gained notoriety. Pearl and her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre killed and tortured 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez. Let’s learn more about this horrible woman.
Who is Pearl Fernandez?
Robert and Sandra Fernandez welcomed Pearl Sinthia Fernandez into the world in 1983. Her early years were very chaotic because his father spent the majority of his time behind bars. Her mother beat her when she was a child. She began using methamphetamine and alcohol at the age of 9.
Pearl dropped out of school and was sexually assaulted as a teenager by her uncle and several other men over the course of several days. She was even admitted to the hospital due to suicidal thoughts. Her relatives have, however, admitted that she was possessive and violent against her partners.
Gabriel’s heartbreaking Murder
The world can sometimes be depressing. Gabriel Fernandez was brutally murdered by his mother and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, when he was just 8 years old. He was tortured by Pearl Fernandez for months, and on May 24, 2013, he passed away.
The terrible aspect is that red flags were everywhere, yet nobody paid attention. If the authorities had acted quickly, Gabriel would still be alive today. In the past, Pearl was found guilty of attacking a prisoner with a weapon. She was criticised for failing to feed her daughter.
Nevertheless, she was able to regain custody of her kid. Even her son was coerced into having oral sex. The social workers then disregarded reports of her torturing Gabriel. Although they were aware of the abuse, the sheriff’s office did nothing.
First-degree murder with particular circumstances of torture was found to have been committed by both Pearl Fernandez and Isauro Aguirre. However, Pearl was given a life sentence without the chance of parole because she admitted guilt whereas Aguirre received a death sentence.
Married Life
Arnold Contreras and Pearl had four kids together, including Gabriel. Just after his birth, she left him. She claimed that she had been the victim of her boyfriend’s violence, but her relatives have since disclosed that Pearl was the one who had mistreated her partners and kids.
Netizen’s Reactions
Internet users rejoiced to learn that Pearl was suffering in prison. Pearl Fernandez has been getting beat up in the prison where my mom works, according to a Twitter user. By the way, prison officials hardly ever allow such inmates to be transferred; her death was only a rumour. She’s still here.
“My cousin’s coworker works at the jail Pearl Fernandez is at and reported she had her ass whooped three times and had to be segregated,” read a tweet from another user. Take a look at these tweets:
#PearlFernandez clearly is eating well in jail?! Astonishing that she is eating and living better now in prison than her poor son #GabrielFernandez did. She should be made to eat cat litter and sleep in a cupboard like she made her son do ? https://t.co/sbPQ33ygk9
— Laura ??? (@LauzSassAndSoul) February 27, 2020
What the face of evil looks like!!
???#PearlFernandez #IsauroAguirre#GabrielFernandez ? pic.twitter.com/iawk23hTjg— Shanalia (@Shanaliag) February 27, 2020
A tribute to #GabrielFernandez who would have been been celebrating his 15th birthday last week, was it not for his brutal tortur and murder in the hands of two monsters, his biological mother #PearlFernandez and her boyfriend, #IsauroAguirre. May he #restinpeace.#childabuse pic.twitter.com/ya50OU509r
— Aroutin Hartounian (@HartounianEsq) February 29, 2020
Pearl’s acts of Torture
In Palmdale, California, Gabriel Daniel Fernandez was born in the year 2005. Numerous neighbours reported evidence of abuse to social officials throughout his eight-month stay with his mother, but nothing was done about it. Four social workers from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services were charged with crimes during the trial.
Pearl went beyond the pale of what we would consider to be torture. Mothers all over the world are shocked that someone could damage their child in such cunning ways. It might be difficult to read, but the Los Angeles Superior court found that she frequently beat Gabriel, breaking bones in the process.
Additionally, Gabriel was shot with a BB pistol, burned with cigarettes, pepper sprayed, made to consume cat litter and human waste, as well as his vomit and food that had gone bad. My hands tremble as I continue to describe how Pearl and her partner laughed while torturing the young child.
These episodes and how Pearl and her boyfriend were found guilty are extensively described in the Netflix documentary Trials of Gabriel Fernandez. The documentary also describes the media’s and the local government’s following responses to Gabriel’s death.
Pearl’s conviction
At the Central California Women’s Facility, Pearl Fernandez is incarcerated on a life sentence without the chance of release for first-degree murder under the unusual conditions of torture. The facility received her on June 21, 2018.
Her terrible crimes against her child were said to have led to numerous prisoners torturing and killing her. However, the prison administration didn’t make a formal announcement about it. Let me just say that she is still very much alive and deserves to be put to death.
In 2021, Pearl submitted a petition asking for a new judgement. Judge George G. Lomeli of the Los Angeles Superior Court thankfully dismissed it. According to the court judgement, she was not qualified for sentencing relief.
Despite entering a “not guilty” plea, Pearl’s partner Aguirre was found guilty by the jury, and they recommended that he be executed. As a result of the governor’s moratorium on the death penalty, he was transferred to the San Quentin State Prison in 2018 and is still awaiting execution. At the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego, he is now completing his term.
Surprisingly, Pearl made a statement prior to being found guilty. I want to apologise to my family for what I done, she said. I wish Gabriel were still here. Every day, I regret not making wiser decisions. After what she done to her child, everything fails.
Chances should not be given to some people. Why she hasn’t received the death penalty is a mystery to me. Accepting a crime does not make it any less serious. Furthermore, how does she even breathe? What do you think of her resolve? Send your ideas flying.
Pearl’s Mental Health
A number of mental health conditions, including personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, developmental impairment, depressive disorder, and more, were identified in Pearl Fernandez.
After administering a cognitive test to Fernandez in 2011, clinical psychologist Deborah S. Miora found that Fernandez is “virtually unable to employ thinking to direct her behaviour and manage her emotional reactions.”
Regarding the stabbing of Arnold Contreras, Pearl is facing accusations. She had a history of criminal behaviour and only a short time after Gabriel’s passing began misusing the opioid medicines Oxycodone and Norco. Gabriel’s defence claimed she had a low IQ during her murder trial.
The judge, on the other hand, correctly read this to mean that “it has been established by her statement during her guilty plea that the murder was intentional and involved the imposition of torture for several months.”
Even though, for once, we think that she had such significant mental illnesses, I think that she should never have been granted custody of Gabriel. The fact that officials can be so careless when it comes to a child’s protection is a heartbreaking reality. Such people are a grave danger to their own families and to society as a whole.
Being a binge-watcher himself, finding Content to write about comes naturally to Divesh. From Anime to Trending Netflix Series and Celebrity News, he covers every detail and always find the right sources for his research.