Pearl Fernandez’s story of the unspeakable torture of her 8-year-old son has become an infamous anecdote when it comes to the narration of premeditated murders. Gabriel Fernandez, 8, was fatally assaulted and tortured by Pearl and her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre. Let’s meet this monstrous woman.
Who is Pearl Fernandez?
Pearl Sinthia Fernandez was born in 1983 to Robert and Sandra Fernandez. Her childhood was extremely turbulent as his father spent most of his time in prison. She was beaten by her mother as a child. At the age of 9 she started consuming methamphetamine and alcohol.
She is a school dropout and as a teenager, Pearl was raped by her uncle and a series of men who raped her for days. She was even hospitalized for having suicidal thoughts. However, her relatives have revealed that she was controlling and abusive towards her boyfriends.
married life
Pearl married Arnold Contreras and had four children with her, including Gabriel. She left him shortly after he was born. She portrayed herself as a victim of abuse from her boyfriends, but her relatives revealed that it was Pearl who abused her partners and children.
Pearl’s Mental Health
Pearl Fernandez was diagnosed with a range of mental health issues such as personality disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, developmental disorder, major depressive disorder, and many more.
Clinical psychologist Deborah S. Miora conducted a cognitive test in 2011 and revealed that Fernandez “virtually incapable of using thoughts to direct her behavior and control her emotional responses.”
Pearl has pending charges of stabbing Arnold Contreras. She started abusing the opioids Oxycodone and Norco just after Gabriel’s death and had a history of criminal acts. During the murder trial against Gabriel, her defense argued that she had a low IQ.
However, the judge interpreted that correctly: “It has been established by her confession during her guilty plea that the murder was intentional and involved the infliction of torture for several months.”
I think she should never have had custody of Gabriel, even if we believe for once that she suffered from such serious mental disorders. It’s a heartbreaking truth that authorities can take such a down-to-earth approach when it comes to a child’s safety. Such people pose a serious threat to their own families and society as a whole.
The Heartbreaking Murder of Gabriel
The world can be a sad place. Gabriel Fernandez was barely 8 when he was brutally murdered by his mother and her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre. He was tortured for months by Pearl Fernandez, leading to his death on May 24, 2013.
The sad thing is, the red flags were everywhere, but no one cared. If authorities had acted quickly, Gabriel would still be breathing. Pearl had previously been convicted of using a weapon against an inmate. There were complaints that she did not feed her daughter.
Despite this, she regained custody of her son. She even forced her son into oral sex. And then the social workers ignored complaints about her torture against Gabriel. The Sheriff’s Department was aware of this abuse, but did nothing.
Pearl Fernandez and Isauro Aguirre were both convicted of first degree murder with special circumstances of torture. However, Aguirre was sentenced to death and Pearl pleaded guilty, so she was sentenced to life in prison with no possibility of parole.
Pearl’s Tortures
Gabriel Daniel Fernandez was born in the year 2005 in Palmdale, CA. During his eight-month stay with his mother, several neighbors reported signs of abuse to social workers, but nothing was done in this regard. During the trial, four social workers from the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services were charged with criminal charges.
Pearl crossed all the boundaries of what we call torture. It comes as a shock to mothers around the world that someone could harm her child in such devious ways. It may be hard to read, but the Los Angeles court concluded that she regularly inflicted physical blows on Gabriel that caused broken bones.
Not only this, Gabriel was forced to eat cat litter and feces, his vomit, expired food, shot in places with a BB gun, burned with cigarettes, sprayed with pepper spray, forced to wear women’s clothing. My hands tremble to go on to say that both Pearl and her friend laughed as the little boy was tortured.
The Netflix Documentary Trials of Gabriel Fernandez reveals these incidents at length and how Pearl was convicted along with her boyfriend. The documentary also details the reactions of the media and local authorities after Gabriel’s murder.
Netizens were happy to hear that Pearl had a tormented experience in prison. One person wrote on Twitter, “Pearl Fernandez is in my mother’s prison, where she works, and she gets a beating.” FYI, pRison authorities rarely grant transfers to such prisoners, but her death was only a rumor. She’s alive.
Another person tweeted, “My cousin’s colleague worked in the prison where Pearl Fernandez is in and said she was beaten three times in the butt and had to be isolated.” Check out these tweets:
#PearlFernandez clearly eat well in prison?! Amazing that she now eats and lives better in prison than her poor son #GabrielFernandez did. She should be eating cat litter and sleeping in a closet 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 celebrated his 15th birthday last week, had it not been for his brutal torture and murder at the hands of two monsters, his biological mother #PearlFernandez and her boyfriend, #IsauroAguirre† may he #rest in peace†#child abuse pic.twitter.com/ya50OU509r
— Aroutin Hartounian (@HartounianEsq) February 29, 2020
Pearl’s Sentencing
Pearl Fernandez is serving a life sentence without the possibility of parole for first degree murder with special circumstances of torture at Central California Women’s Facility. She was sent to the facility on June 21, 2018.
There were rumors that several inmates tortured and killed her for her horrific acts against her child. However, the prison authorities have not released an official statement about this. Well, let me tell you she is very much alive and deserving of the death penalty.
Pearl filed a petition for a new conviction in 2021. Fortunately, it was rejected by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli. According to the court order, she was not entitled to a new conviction.
Pearl’s partner Aguirre pleaded “not guilty”, but the jury found him guilty and recommended a death sentence. He was sent to San Quentin State Prison in 2018 and is still awaiting execution under the moratorium on the death penalty issued by the governor. He is currently serving his sentence at the Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility in San Diego.
Shockingly, Pearl released a statement for her conviction. She said, “I want to tell my family I’m sorry for what I’ve done… I wish Gabriel was still alive. Every day I wish I made better choices.” Well, everything comes up short after what she did to her kid.
Some people don’t deserve opportunities. I wonder why she didn’t get the death penalty. Accepting a crime does not lessen its seriousness. Besides, how does she manage to even breathe? What do you think of her conviction? Shoot your mind.
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