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Gabriel Fernandez who was tortured to death had asked teacher if it was normal for his mom to hit him with belt

The teacher opened up on the heartbreaking questions he asked her before he died of torture and abuse
UPDATED MAR 19, 2020
(Netflix)
(Netflix)

Eight-year-old Gabriel Fernandez was subjected to nightmares. The tortures that he faced are probably the worst horrors known to mankind. The boy was beaten to death in 2013 and only now, the chilling details are coming out. We shudder. 

Gabriel was tortured and killed by his own mother and her boyfriend. A Netflix documentary, 'The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez' looks at the tragic case and delves into what exactly happened to the child. The documentary features a heartbreaking interview with Gabriel's teacher who revealed some of the horrifying questions the little boy had asked her.

Year-long abuse

Gabriel had been given up by his mother Pearl Fernandez when he was born in 2005 and sent to live with his grandmother. However, in 2012, when Gabriel was around 8, Pearl got custody of him and he moved in with his mother and her boyfriend. His school teacher alerted social workers over several months as Gabriel would often show up with bruises, scratches, a busted lip, and a swollen face, more often than not. The child was subjected to being starved, beaten black and blue, forced to eat rotten spinach, cat feces, and even his own vomit.

The child was also shot at with a BB gun and hit with a belt. His teeth had been knocked out with a baseball bat. Isauro Aguirre, his mother's boyfriend, later said that he believed the boy was gay, and this was the reason for his torture.

"Is it normal for your mum to hit you with a belt?"

Gabriel's school teacher, Jennifer Garcia, revealed that the child had asked her some very concerning questions that led her to call the social services. A couple of weeks after Gabriel had joined her class, he had reportedly asked Garcia, "Is it normal for moms to hit their kids?" She probed to find out more when he asked if it was normal to get hit with a belt buckle.

"The first incident when I became aware that something wasn’t normal was when he started asking a couple of questions," Garcia shared. "'Is it normal for your mum to hit you with a belt?' And then he said, 'Is it normal to bleed?' I think right there, I knew I was going to call the hotline that day and that’s what I did." 

She also recalled a later incident and said, "one day he walked in with chunks of hair cut out in a random pattern and then underneath each patch, there would be a bloody scab." She also spoke about the time when he was shot in the face by his mother who used a BB gun. Garcia added, "After the incident with the BB gun, there was a long absence and I just remember when he came in, I was like, his forehead had skin that looked it had been coming off."

Chilling Note 

A few days after Gabriel died in May 2013, Garcia looked inside his desk and found a chilling note written in shaky handwriting. Garcia spoke about the note while giving evidence at Aguirre's trial. The note read, "I love you mom and Gabriel is a good boy".

His Death

Pearl had called 911 in 2013 to report that Gabriel had stopped breathing after he slipped and hit his head. The paramedics found that he had broken ribs, a cracked skull, pellets from a BB gun lodged in his skin. Gabriel was rushed to the hospital and declared brain dead. He passed away two days later. 

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