LOS ANGELES – The older brother of an 8-year-old Palmdale boy who was allegedly tortured and killed by his mother and her boyfriend in May 2013 recounted a harrowing tale of abuse Wednesday, telling a jury his sibling was forced to eat cat litter and cat feces and was repeatedly beaten in the months leading up to his death.
Gabriel Fernandez’s 16-year-old brother, who was identified in court only as Ezequiel C., told jurors he recalled his little brother being hit by his mother, Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, and frequently being kept in a “box” in the couple’s bedroom.
“I noticed two beds in your room, but Gabriel still stayed in that box most of the time?” Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami asked the teenager in reference to photos showing the bedroom the brothers shared.
“Yes,” he responded.
His testimony — along with the testimony of the boy’s older sister — came on the third day of trial for Aguirre, a 37-year-old former security guard who is charged with murder in Gabriel’s May 22, 2013, fatal beating. He also faces a special circumstance allegation of murder involving the infliction of torture.
Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Aguirre and Fernandez, 34, who will be tried separately.
During his opening statement Monday, Hatami told jurors the youngster was systematically tortured because Aguirre believed the child was gay.
One of Aguirre’s attorneys, John Alan, acknowledged that Aguirre committed “unspeakable acts of abuse” against Gabriel before “exploding into a rage of anger” that resulted in the boy’s death. But he told jurors the evidence would show that “Isauro never intended for Gabriel to die.”
On the stand Wednesday, Ezequiel said it was tough to remember what had happened to his younger brother and that it makes him sad. He acknowledged that he recalled the details after repeatedly being asked in court to review a copy of a transcript of his testimony before the grand jury that indicted his mother and Aguirre.
The boy’s older brother said he recalled Aguirre often calling his youngest brother gay, and sometimes placing a sock in — and a bandana over — the boy’s mouth.
“So, Gabriel was in the box for months and tied up like he was?” the prosecutor asked.
“Yes,” the teen responded.
He said Gabriel was hidden in the box when social workers came to their apartment and that his mother and her boyfriend told him to lie about his brother’s injuries and to say that they occurred while the two boys were playing.
Aguirre would sometimes put make-up on the boy to cover his bruises, the teen said.
The teenager said he also recalled his younger brother being kicked and being struck by Aguirre with the metal part of a belt, a metal hanger, a wooden club and a baseball bat, along with being shot with a BB gun in the face and groin area.
“Is it tough to remember that?” the prosecutor asked.
“Yes,” the boy responded.
He testified that his mother also kicked Gabriel in the groin area, hit him with a broomstick, punched him and forced him to wear girl’s clothing to school. He said his Gabriel — who would take other clothing and change in the school restroom — was hit once by his mom after she caught him.
The teen testified that he remembered his mother and Aguirre putting the boy in the bathtub and Aguirre spraying him in the face with pepper spray.
He said his mother and her boyfriend also made the boy eat “spoiled or expired stuff,” telling jurors he remembered the boy being forced to eat old spinach, and when Gabriel vomited, he was told to eat the vomit off the table.
“They’d make him eat the cat litter and the cat poop,” he also told jurors.
The teen said his mother hit him after catching him trying to sneak food to his younger brother.
He said his mother told him to tell police or paramedics the night of the 911 call that the boys were playing when the 8-year-old hit his head on a cabinet.
On cross-examination, defense attorney Michael Sklar asked the teenager, “Why do you think Gabriel was hurt so much and not you and (your sister) Virginia?”
“I don’t know,” the teen responded.
The boy’s teenage sister, identified in court as Virginia C., broke down in tears when she was shown a photo of the boy. The judge instructed jurors to take a five-minute break, and the teenage girl confirmed when court resumed that it was a photo of her younger brother.
She testified that she saw Aguirre repeatedly punching the boy, and that her mother knocked his two front teeth out.
“Did he cry?” the prosecutor asked.
“Yes,” she said, wiping her nose and one of her eyes.
She responded affirmatively when asked if the beatings happened a lot, wiping one of her eyes after testifying that Aguirre had shot her younger brother with a BB gun.
When asked whether Aguirre put her youngest brother in a cabinet — which was across the room from her in court and which was referred to earlier in the day by her older brother as a box — she said, “Yes … a lot.”
The boy slept in the cabinet, which had handcuffs attached so he couldn’t get out, she testified.
The teenage girl appeared emotional throughout her testimony, wiping one of her eyes after testifying that Aguirre had shot her younger brother with a BB gun.
“Did Gabriel ever have to wear any type of girls’ clothing?” Hatami asked.
“Yes,” she responded, noting that her mother and Aguirre had both called the boy gay.
The teenage girl — who is set to continue her testimony Friday after a one-day break in the trial — told jurors she was sitting on the edge of a bed and “my mother’s boyfriend was punching him” the night her youngest brother was fatally beaten.
“He had knocked the air out of him and he fell over and he didn’t get back up,” she said through tears. “So they picked him up, they threw him in the shower and they kept yelling at him to wake up. When he didn’t wake up, my mother decided to call the police.”
Paramedics and Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies responded to the apartment after the couple called 911 to report that the child was not breathing.
The youngster — who had missed school for two weeks — was declared brain dead that day and was taken off life support two days later.
In testimony Tuesday, two registered nurses who work in the pediatric intensive care unit at Children’s Hospital Los Angeles told jurors that the boy was covered in injuries.
“It seemed like every inch of Gabriel was bruised and swollen,” one of the nurses, Emily Rebar, said.
She said he had so many injuries it was hard to keep track of all of them.
Another nurse, Jodi Mercier, testified that the youth “looked like a shell of a boy,” noting that he had “multiple injuries all over his body.”
A Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputy who responded to the home the night of the 911 call testified that the boy was “heavily bruised all over his body and face” and that he spoke with the boy’s mother and her boyfriend.
When Aguirre was questioned about the boy’s extensive bruises, he responded that the boy was very angry and would hurt himself a lot, and had also been injured in a bicycle accident a few days earlier, according to sheriff’s Deputy Ronald McCarthy.
The boy’s mother — who had a “disinterested” demeanor when she was being questioned about what had happened to the boy — expressed concern about the family’s seven cats being left alone in the apartment in a cage, the deputy testified.
The boy’s death triggered investigations into the county’s child welfare system and resulted in the filing of criminal charges of child abuse and falsifying public records against two former county social workers and two of their supervisors, who are due back in court Friday for a pretrial hearing.
[Editor’s note: Story has been updated to add more details and testimony.]
Previous related stories:
Palmdale man’s defense attorney admits client murdered 8-year-old boy
Trial date set for Palmdale couple charged in boy’s beating death
DA to seek death penalty against Palmdale couple in Gabriel’s beating death
L.A. County trying to block return of social worker in Palmdale child abuse death
Accused child killers plead not guilty
Four social workers fired in death of Gabriel
Couple charged with capital murder in death of Palmdale boy
Justice for Gabriel protest, teacher speaks out
Palmdale boy dies after abuse, mother and boyfriend arrested
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Ruth Cherico says
I didn’t know this precious little boy who was so helpless in that killers’ domaine. I have read almost anything there is to read on this site, have woken in the night because I can’t seem to overcome the
thought of the endless cruelty to Gabriel. My imagination does wild as I think about all the injuries he sustained – for no reason or purpose other than to hurt and destroy this innocent child. As a result of Gabriel’s horrible death, I have become a supporter of the death penalty – the sooner the better. Alternatively, maybe the prisoners in one of California’s prisons, will possibly do it for us. Those inmates do not condone child murderers – so we shall see if Mr Aguirre gets his just desserts; not too quickly I hope. He needs to suffer eight months before he dies from “unspeakable cruelty.”
Lucy says
How can these 2 evil monsters not look at one another and think this is wrong! Gabriel did not deserve such a painful life, no child does. His only protection in life was who he needed protection from. This is so heartbreaking, I just don’t understand how someone can do this to an innocent child and do it repeatedly. So sad my heart goes out to Gabriel and his brother and sister. RIP Gabriel
Please speak up about child abuse!
SatanIsComing says
Satan himself needs to take these two.
Cv says
My stomach is sick that bitch needs to be tortured
Elyse says
Homophobia kills. This whole thing is proof.
Yamilet B says
Heart wrenching to read such horrible treatment of a poor innocent boy! For those who are left mourning the loss of Grabiel my thoughts and prayers are with them that they may heal mentally and emotionally. Awaiting the “new world” where we can be in paradise with him.
2 Peter 3:13
aManOfTruth says
I don’t think the mom will get the death penalty as she is not the one who dealt the killing blows. She is certainly guilty of child abuse and of being a terrible mother but I fail to see how she even qualifies for capital punishment.
The truth hurts says
She deserves the same punishment as her boyfriend no doubt. As a mother u r supposed to protect ur kids to the fullest. She didn’t care and obviously thru text messages this momster and her minion were sending back and forth to each other she didn’t fear him so she had a lot to do with the abuse. Im sure she planned it all she was a manipulator she could get her man to do wat she wanted him to do. So therefore she deserves the same sentencing as her piece of crap boyfriend.
aManOfTruth says
So just because the victim is a cute little kid then everyone deserves the death penalty.. His siblings, his teachers, the mailman, the dog…..
Deborah says
Why isn’t this brother also being held responsible? He stayed silent. Being so much older he could have taken him to a teacher, run away to a safe friends house, or better yet tell the social worker ” Hey, my brother is in that box help him!” His silence also contributed to his brother’s death.
I know those of you reading this moght become angry and disagree. But let me ask you this….
.How are going to lie in bed sleeping every night when you know your brother is bound in a box?
This brother could have done something, said something. It’s a little to late now.
Tim Scott says
This is a great idea. Make it a crime for kids to not represent law enforcement in their homes. Maybe get them involved in a “youth organization” and train them in the proper techniques for observing and reporting. Maybe even give them some sort of recognizable uniform, like a little junior militia. Could start with, I dunno, maybe brown shirts.
aManOfTruth says
I know Tim in RL and he does not know that I know that he knows what I know and he… wait… now I’m confused… but anyhow… post something… and Tim will find a way to be against it.. bu not me.. I STAND for something I believe in…. one day Tim will tell me what that is :)
Torialee says
Lady, 3 years is not “ so much older” especially to a kid that has ALSO been abused by his incubator but by a lesser degree.
FEAR controlled him and his sister, told by this ugly a$$ monkey faced momster, that they would suffer the same or worse abuse if they opened their mouths, they shut up and tried to survive in Pearls madness.
Tell me, as a child did you do as your parents told you to avoid punishment?
You can say “what you would have done” but it would be a lie since you didn’t live these children’s life!
No. These children do not need to be punished AGAIN for not trying to do something, they have been punished enough with all the memories locked inside their heads!
SMH ♂️ you’re a real piece of work!
Alexis says
Both the older brother and older sister that testified, Deborah, are definitely traumatized by this horrifying situation. I’m sure they lived in fear as well. You don’t know what they went through. All of the adults failed to protect this little boy.
Dani Elle says
Are you f@&king kidding me? He probably doesn’t sleep well… You are as sick as they are placing blame on an innocent child. Witnessing torture is just as traumatizing as being tortured yourself in some cases. Think about the fear instilled in that poor boy as he watched his younger brother being abused. I can’t even believe someone could be so absurd to place the burden of responsibility on another child in the home… There is something seriously wrong with you.
Dani says
Jesus, the siblings weren’t old enough to deal with fixing the problem. They were raised in the same horrible situation. I think having to live with survivors guilt and living with the death of your brother at the hands of family is quite enough. Don’t blame the victims.
Dan says
I’m not a man who weeps easily. Believe me. But every time I hear or read about this sad sad story, I just can’t help but break into tears. I have children and grandchildren of my own. I can’t even imagine that any parent could do such despicable acts to their own children or any child. My only comfort Is knowing that Gabriel is in heaven, safe with the HEAVILY FATHER and no longer suffering in the evil hands of these 2 monsters. Protect and Love your child(ren). Hug and kiss them everyday. God Bless.
Salina Douglas says
I agree. These two (cannot think of anything to call them) need to be bumped ahead in the death penalty line. No human being deserves to be treated this way.
I don’t agree about the brother being responsible…he was 12 at the time and probably felt he was in a hopeless situation.
Justin Barnes says
For all the social justice warriors out there where is the support and hashtags for an 8 year old boy tortured and killed by his mother and her boyfriend? When we have people claiming sexual harassment in Hollywood and broadway from 20 years ago and overpaid blubbering buffoon football players taking a knee for the national anthemic which both groups are paid gazillions more than they should be. Get real people it’s a movie and a damn sport! Sports are supposed to be a show of physical prowess and skill not a multi million dollar job. If we are going to have socioeconomic justice let’s focus it on what matters. The kids! The next generation! Stop eating your time hash tagging nothing and get to something that really matters! Hang em high and do it in public for all the would bed to see!!!
kd says
Well that comment has nothing to do with this article.Why dont you stick to this.I can smell your racist breath all the way over here.
Justin Barnes says
Where are all the social justice warriors on this issue? I wrote an extensive post a bit ago and it never showed up! What’s up with that? Is this google at its best?
Justin says
Instead of all the social justice warriors protesting trump, conservatives, and DACA its shameful to not see the outcry of love and compassion for an 8 year old boy that was tortured and ultimately killed by his mother and her boyfriend. Instead of #Me too and protesting the national anthem how about #Gabriel Fernandez???????????!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I guess that just shows the focus of the country and especially the elites. Time to wake up and think about the real issues in the world and deal with them. These two demons should be beat and tortured to death so that they can feel a small percentage of that little boys pain whose mother at the least should have been there to protect him. Stop hash tagging stupid ass sociopolitical issues and start doing something that matters. Less sheeple more people. May you Rest In Peace Gabriel!
Irena says
Protesting or encouraging one cause does not invalidate others. Each person has their passion. There are many groups who focus on just child abuse, just like there are ones that center on elder abuse or even animal abuse.
Tamera says
The death penalty is not enough for what they did to the poor little boy. I say give them life in prison and let the other inmates find out what they did and let them handle it.
monique n rodriguez says
I wish the inmates would do the same to them
Tianna says
Tammy I agree with you the death penalty is not good enough, i personally agree with ” an eye for an eye”. They need to be tortured like that beautiful little boy. Gabriel you are now safe in the presence of your creator.
starzowner says
If these two evil parents do not get the death penalty then there is no justice for this little boy! Sickening
Christine says
I wonder if there is an attorney that would go up against child services for a few incidents where I know for a fact children should not have been taken away and child services over did it to protect themselves after the events of what happen to Gabriel making innocent families life’s complete hell the family should be repaid for pain and suffering and their cases closed
Robert says
Disgusting!
There’s no punishment too harsh for these despicable people
anonn says
What are we waiting for….? Just euthanize these two animals!