In May of 2013, 8 year old Gabriel Fernandez was murdered by his mother and her boyfriend after suffering months of abuse and torture. The six episode documentary on Netflix shows the systematic failure of every person in Gabriel’s life.
School officials would try to report Gabriel’s bruises, burns and wounds to DCF, without success. Sheriff’s Department believed the mom saying the boy was lying, one deputy even cuffed Gabriel and put him into the back of the cop car. Social workers falsified documents. It is unimaginable that no one helped this child.
At the sentencing trial for Pearl Fernandez and Isauro Aguirre, the judge said this, “You want to say this conduct was animalistic, but that would be wrong. ‘Cause even animals know how to take care of their young.”
Investigative Reporter Garrett Therolf stated that by LA county’s own count, more than 150 children have died from abuse and neglect after receiving some DCF involvement since Gabriel’s death. Why is DCF not willing to help these children?
Allyson Rega
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As I watched The Trails of Gabriel Fernandez, many thoughts came to mind. First, I thought how could parents treat a child so poorly. Gabriel did not seem like that type of child that misbehaved or caused trouble for his mother and step father. I knew there was underlying factors, which contributed to Gabriel’s parents behaviors. As I watched the documentary series, when I first saw Pearl, I immediately knew that she was the primary abuser. I do not like to “judge a book by its cover”, but in this instance, I knew I was right. As I watched the episode, which focused on Pearl, many of my suspicions about her were true. Doctors diagnosed her with many mental health issues. She also experienced some forms of sexual abuse and had severe anger problems. As one of the family discussed Pearl and Isauro’s relationship, she explained that when they first met Isauro, he seemed like a good person. From a photo presented in the documentary, Isauro looked like he came from a different background than Pearl. Pearl emulated the gangsta lifestyle, while Isauro seemed like a working class person. Once I discovered who Gabriel’s real father was, I came to a conclusion. I believe that Isauro was attempting to please Pearl’s desires of what she thought a “masculine” male was. As the saying goes, “love makes you blind”. Gabriel’s father, from what I saw, was a convicted offender and possibly a gang member. So, Pearl was probably attempting to mold Isauro into a “cold-blooded gangsta”. Pearl’s manipulative behavior, along with Isauro’s insecurity as a man, led to Gabriel’s unexplained mistreatment and death.