Gabriel Fernandez murder: Nurse says boy suffered BB gunshot wounds to his genitals, had cat litter in stomach
Gabriel Fernandez, whose story has come back into the spotlight following the release of Netflix docu-series 'The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez,' died from horrific injuries, including those he sustained after he was shot in the genitals, a nurse has revealed.
Gabriel, 8, had been rushed to the hospital after emergency personnel responded to his California home on May 22, 2013, following a call from his mother Pearl Fernandez, who reported he had stopped breathing after hitting his head.
Paramedics, however, found the young boy beaten up and lying on the floor displaying signs of severe physical torture -- he had a broken skull, three cracked ribs, several BB pellets lodged in his lungs and groin and visible bruises. At Antelope Valley Hospital, the prognosis got worse, with medical staff reportedly "traumatized" by his injuries, which nurse Alison Segal detailed while testifying at Pearl's trial.
Segal described seeing bruises all over his body, swelling on his arms and legs, BB gun injuries on his neck and groin where one remained lodged in the area and older injuries that were starting to heal, skin missing around his neck, and trauma to his genitals.
"There were abrasions. There were open wounds. There was bruising. There was swelling. There were marks on the legs. There was skin missing off the top of the neck, so there were multiple injuries on Gabriel...head to toe," she recalled.
She said his condition was so critical, that she could not complete a comprehensive assessment as he had to be transported to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles for more extensive treatment. While his chart said he had fallen in the shower, Segal, who worked in the forensic unit at the hospital and had to provide service for patients who had been victims of abuse, said she knew that was a lie.
Segal shared that the boy was on a ventilator and that his heart stopped at least two times. "They had to resuscitate him with extreme measures," she added. She also testified about cuts and marks to his head, cheeks, lips, and neck, missing teeth, cuts inside his mouth.
Despite the doctors' best efforts, Gabriel was declared brain dead and died two days later. During the subsequent investigation, it emerged that Gabriel had been subjected to years of torture at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre, who later said they abused him because he believed the 8-year-old was gay.
Gabriel had allegedly been starved, beaten black and blue, forced to eat rotten spinach, cat feces, cat litter, and even his own vomit, with his brother testifying that he "slept bound and gagged inside a small cabinet."
Pearl pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in February and admitted that it was intentional murder by torture. She was sentenced to life in prison without parole after the hearing. Aguirre has been sentenced to death.