The Netflix sensation “The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez” has left viewers with many questions about the fates of those involved in the saga surrounding the young boy’s tortuous, horrific death.
Chief among these questions are those about the fates of the Gabriel Fernandez siblings after the trial.
Central to the conviction of Isauro Aguirre and first-hand witnesses to the death of their brother, the siblings became the bedrock of the prosecution’s case and eventual securing of a death penalty punishment for their mother’s former boyfriend.
What happened to the Gabriel Fernandez siblings, a brother and a sister, following their mother’s guilty plea and conviction in his death? And how were they impacted by the trial and how are they doing now? We have answers.
Who are the Gabriel Fernandez siblings?
Central figures in the Netflix documentary, the Gabriel Fernandez siblings gave some of the most powerful and damning testimony in the trial. Present at the trial of their mother’s boyfriend Isauro Aguirre, Ezequiel and Virginia told the courts of Isauro’s violent tendencies and psychotic levels of anger. Aged 16 and 14 respectively, they were protected under law as minors thus cameras were not permitted in court during their testimonies.
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Nonetheless, footage of their powerful testimony was shown, faces blurred, and became central to the death sentence Isauro eventually received. Ezequiel and Virginia told the court that Isauro would force Gabriel to eat cat litter, spray him with pepper spray, make him bathe in cold water, and would not permit him to use the toilet, the Express reports.
The siblings were even forced to participate in the beating of their brother with Ezequiel describing how he coached Gabriel to “fall down quickly” to make such sessions shorter in duration. As such details were revealed to the public and beyond, it quickly became apparent that Gabriel wasn’t the only victim in this case and that his brother and sister both suffered immense trauma as well.
The Gabriel Fernandez siblings further told the court about how their mother Pearl Fernandez deceived social workers. Virginia described Gabriel’s solitary life and his confinement in a cupboard. The siblings would sneak food to the young child while he was imprisoned in his own home. His brother Ezequiel located notes written by Gabriel that described how he wanted to die and brought them to the attention of the therapist Carmen Le Norgant who subsequently forwarded the evidence of suicidal ideation on through the system yet nothing happened.
Police were also notified and even visited the family’s home but did not interview Gabriel at that time. The final beating led to Gabriel’s death. Pearl’s plea meant that her children would not need to testify against her and, today, the children are in the custody of a family member. Because of the extremely harrowing circumstances surrounding their lives, they are shying away from publicity and have shunned requests from the media.
The siblings were part of a lawsuit against the Department of Children and Family Services as well as the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s department for the death of their brother. A settlement was reached between the parties in the amount of $2.6 million.
This is a sick sick case. The mother should have gotten the death penalty also. I hope she rots, with daily torture, for the rest of her life in prison. How could a mother do that to her child, I don’t care what kind of childhood she had???
Keep blaming it on that, poor pitiful you!!!!! He had people that did love him and taking care of him, then he was taken away, for the welfare money, then beat to death? What kind of fucking sense does that make??? I can’t get this story off my mind!!!!! It literally makes me sick!!! And the torture you, as a mother, and your so-called boyfriend, put the little angel through, I hope you both have a hard time sleeping at night!!!!!!! You absolutely deserve the worst that could happen to you in prison, you low life piece of shit!!!
And for all the other people involved in this case, how could you not fucking see the writing on the wall??? I’ve NEVER cared for CPS!!! They get involved and tear families apart that they shouldn’t, and then let other deadly situations like this shit, get through, because they saw nothing wrong with the situation. How many times was he noticed, or did he try to reach out, only to fall thru the cracks? Bullshit!!!!!
The poor guy that kept digging, and mind you, had to get THERAPY while doing this story, the school teacher that tried to reach out, the guy that noticed Gabriel’s hands, when he was walking thru the office with his monster parent and the other kids, PROBABLY THE DAMN WELFARE OFFICE, the poor Grandpa and the promise that he had made to Gabriel, and then Gabriel was killed, and I can’t even think who else right now, fuck, I can’t even sleep at night!!! I cried several times thru the documentary, and I still cry when I think about it. This story is just so unbelievable!!! The judge even shook his head a time or two during the case!!!!!
I could go on and on, but my blood is boiling now. I hate this I hate this. I’m so sorry Little Angel Gabriel. I will always love you.
I agree that mom should of gotten the death penalty too. No matter how bad your life was you don’t take it out of your child and then let some one else beat him too. You were never a mother, just a baby machine who produce children’s that you never loved. I prayed to God every day that the rest of your children’s life that you will never see them and that you died of slow and painful death like your son did. Even animals treat their children’s better that you did, if you didn’t want him you should of giving him back to his grandparents. That boy suffer not just from you but all the people at school and the social workers at DCF. You all are murders, their is no way you can hold your head up and say job well done, you are just as much blame as his mother. Shame Shame Shame on all of the teachers, workers and any one else that knew and didnt do any thing to help him. I pray that you all suffer every day like he did and have bad nightmares. May all of you rest in hell.