A new Netflix show is revealing the horrors experienced by a young boy, Gabriel Hernandez, who was tortured to death by his mother and her boyfriend all while authorities did nothing. The tragedy is revealed in the documentary 'The Trials Of Gabriel Hernandez', a truly disturbing watch.
Fernandez, who was 8 when he died, suffered unimaginable treatment at the hands of the two individuals who would beat him, starve him, burn him with cigarettes, and keep him holed up in a small box as punishment for any perceived wrongdoing. Despite going to school with bruises on a huge number of occasions the complaints were ignored by the authorities at the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. Fernandez even asked teachers:
"Is it normal for moms to hit their kids?" and "Is it normal for you to bleed?"
Greg Merritt, who worked for the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services even signed off a request to close the case into the family and the boy's treatment as he believed the accusations the boy was making were highly exaggerated.
The documentary explains how Fernandez started his life in caring home, with his grandparents and uncle, but moved in with his mother some years later when she demanded that he be handed over. Fernandez was soon in the care of his mother Pearl Fernandez and her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre.
In May 2013 a call was made by the mother and her boyfriend to 911 saying that the boy had fallen, had hit his head and had stopped breathing. While Pearl tried desperately to convince the medical staff that he had died from a simple accident she wasn't believed. When the boy died a few days later an examination of his body revealed a huge number of long-standing injuries. Including bb pellets lodged under his skin. Pearl Fernandez was later sentenced to life in prison while her boyfriend received the death penalty.
Judge George J. Lomeli said of the case:
"The conduct was horrendous, inhumane and nothing short of evil. It's unimaginable, the pain that this child probably endured. Gabriel was a kind, loving individual who just wanted to be loved. You want to say that the behaviour was animalistic, but that would be wrong because even animals know how to care for their young."
The documentary maker, Brian Knappenberger, told EW about his decision to publicise the case through the documentary, saying:
"The documentary is a really difficult watch but it's an important one. We made the decision that Gabriel's voice needed to be heard, and in order to tell that story we had to be as honest and as straightforward as we possibly could. I think that in the end, this is a story of a kind of redemption, or a questioning of how things can be better in this system and that has motivated us to tell the story."
COMMENTS