Those who knew Gabriel best talked to ABC7 about the boy. According to Jennifer Garcia, Gabriel showed up to class with signs that something terrible had happened at home, and it didn't take long for him to explain. Netflix's The Trial of Gabriel Fernandez has horrified viewers with the cruelty inflicted on the eight-year-old by his mother and her boyfriend. Instead, she gave him to her uncle Carranza (Fernandezs great-uncle) and his partner, David Martinez. When Gabriel died, there was a Department of Child and Family Services investigation opened against Martinez and Carranza, looking into a claim that the pair had sexually abused Gabriel. And what did they do? Fernandez was sentenced to life imprisonment, and Aguirro to death, although due to Governor Gavin Newsom suspending all executions while he's in office, he will remain in prison. Isauro didn't have blood on his hands or anywhere on his body, which was strange given the amount all over Gabriel when paramedics found him. Join half a million readers enjoying Newsweek's free newsletters, David Martinez in "The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez", Everyone Practices Cancel Culture | Opinion, Deplatforming Free Speech is Dangerous | Opinion. They loved being with him and raising him, and Gabriel loved them both very much.. A new voice joined the outcry. He takes aim at the Department of Children and Family Services. After they beat the 8-year-old boy so badly that he needed to go to the hospital, where he eventually died, his uncles rushed to be by his side. Struggling through tears, she added that there was: "So much damage, and so many questions.". Robert Fernandez's account of this, however, differs. But Gov. Speaking in the documentary series, Christene Estes, a trauma nurse, describes having to document each of the injuries they found individually - while her colleagues fought to save his life. After having Fernandez, his mom, Pearl, decided she wasnt the right person to raise him. They claimed to have never found strong enough signs of abuse in order to remove Gabriel from the house. In the doc, he says, "ICE got hold of me. In 2009 he moved in with his grandparents; his grandfather deciding that Gabriel should not be brought up by two gay men. During the last eight months of . "Children are still getting killed. Email us at exclusive@the-sun.com or call 212 416 4552. (Photo by Irfan Khan/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images), Isauro Aguirre was given the death penalty for the murder of Gabriel Fernandez. For him, it's personal. Contreras says Aguirre deserves no mercy, and he says evidence backs him up. RELATED: Slain SoCal boy pepper-sprayed in face, forced to eat cat feces, brother testifies. "They need somebody else to do it, but especially during this time. I mean every part of his body there was something.". She contemplated abortion on several occasions and would have gone through with it had her uncle had not convinced her to have the baby. Gabriel was first given to his great uncles, Michael Lemos Carranza and his partner David Martinez, where he spent around four years. Gabriel Fernandez was raised by his great uncle and his partner (Image: NETFLIX) In the documentary, Gabriel's move at the age of four was because his grandfather Robert Fernandez. When emergency services were called to his home in May 2013, he was found with a fractured skull, broken ribs and BB gun bullets in his skin, to name a few of his horrific injuries. Children are still getting murdered. PALMDALE, California -- This weekend marks seven years since parental child abuse took the life of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez. He actually spent the first four years of his life living with his great-uncle Michael Lemos Carranza and his partner, David Martinez. Fernandez's parents, Robert and Sandra, helped raise the child as well, looking after him between 2005 and 2012. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. It is not any easier," Contreras said. This weekend marks seven years since parental child abuse took the life of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez. "Something brings it back in. Gabriel's uncle Chris Contreras is breaking his silence. You can unsubscribe at any time. She steered the conversation back to Gabriel's academics. However, this is a charge Martinez strenuously denies in the Netflix documentary, claiming that the investigation came out of the family's fears that Gabriel was gay. "I think you not only have a moral and ethical obligation to save that child, I think you have a legal obligation to save that child. Copyright 2023 KABC Television, LLC. "We have added thousands of case workers, which have increased the capability of us to be able to work very closely with families," said Bobby Cagle, director of the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services. "As far as Canada, they come. He and his wife adopted Gabriel's siblings, the walking wounded. Because no matter how many times I saw Gabriel smile, when I think of Gabriel now, I picture him in that hospital bed, not waking up.". "Children are still getting killed. The prosecutor's crusade to protect children was ignited at the Palmdale complex where Gabriel lived. "What they did is almost as bad as what Pearl and Isauro did," he said. The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez details the horrendous abuse Gabriel endured, which also included forcing him to eat cat faeces, burning him with cigarettes and locking him in a cabinet. R.I.P MICHAEL LEMOS CARRANZA.. They loved being with him and raising him, and Gabriel loved them both very much.. Are Janelle, Christine and Meri Suing Kody Over Money From Coyote Pass? The dismissal, says Contreras, was as wrong as what happened earlier. I haven't been here [San Salvador] for 38 years. ", In the subsequent trial, Gabriel's brave siblings described how. "In her mind," Hatami said of Pearl, "She's thinking that they were gonna get rid of him. Four had been charged but the appeals court dismissed the case ruling that the workers did not have a legal responsibility to care for a child the way a parent did. The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez is the harrowing six-part documentary series on Netflix about the case of Gabriel Fernandez. Gabriel's uncle Chris Contreras is breaking his silence. DeSantis coming to CA as new poll shows him leading Trump, Ice flies off SUV, smashing windshield: 'You could kill somebody'. Carranza slammed social services for their failings in a rally held days after Gabriel died. But they didn't," said Carranza. In Pearl's custody, someone called to report that they thought Gabriel was molested by his uncle, but no one has confirmed this allegation. Martinez says of the claims: "The allegations were false, we never sexually abused Gabriel at all. THE uncle of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez, who died after years of abuse at the hands of his mother and her boyfriend, has spoken out for the first time since the child's death in 2013. Contreras says Aguirre deserves no mercy, and he says evidence backs him up. PALMDALE, Calif. (KABC) -- This weekend marks seven years since parental child abuse took the life of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez. She also recalls seeing "cigarette marks like people had been putting cigarettes out on him". failings of the system designed to protect, Chilling note found in Gabriel Fernandez's school desk after he was tortured to death, Murdered Gabriel Fernandez, 8, asked teacher heartbreaking question about mum hitting him, True story of Trials of Gabriel Fernandez - Murdered boy, 8, was forced to eat cat litter, Tory peer Michelle Mone tracked down on lavish holiday with husband at 7m Algarve villa bought AFTER PPE police raid - and she responds with foul-mouthed rant, BREAKING: Aldi reveals list of 30 places where it wants to open stores - see if one is near you, Prince Harry and Meghan break silence after King Charles evicts them from Frogmore, Boy's Prince Harry World Book Day costume dubbed 'masterpiece' as mum explains choice, FA Cup quarter-final draw IN FULL as Man Utd, Man City and Grimsby learn fate, 'HE'S BETRAYED MY MUM': Devastated families of those killed by Covid say Matt Hancock's bombshell WhatsApp messages 'twist knife' in wounds, BREAKING: Matt Hancock hits out at 'massive betrayal' by journalist Isabel Oakeshott as more pandemic WhatsApps emerge, Vulnerable woman died alone of hypothermia in freezing council home, Amy Nuttall 'rumbled' husband Andrew Buchan's 'affair' over detail in new lingerie, Chris Pine FINALLY reveals what was said in unaired 'spit-gate' incident with Harry Styles, Constance Marten's baby could have been dead for two weeks before couple arrested, Heavy snow in brutal -11C blast to batter Brits as Met Office gives update, Subscribe to Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror newspapers. Prosecutor Hatami firstly thought it was suspicious that she showed the note to his in-home counsellor, Carmen Le Norgant, just as she was leaving a visit less than three months before his death. His memory has generated positive steps to save children. "I would show everybody that picture of Gabriel in the hospital. Living in a household gripped by fear. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Why No One Saved Gabriel Fernandez. We convinced her to have Gabriel and for her to give [the baby] to us so we [could] raise it.. By clicking Sign Up, you agree to our Terms and Conditions and that you have read our Privacy Policy. Her theory was that Pearl told authorities that it was bigger boys that were harming her son, not her and her partner. David Martinez now lives in San Salvador - capital of El Salvador - after being deported from the US by ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). After his teacher notified social workers of the abuse, something could have been done. Gabriel's memory in the household is so painful, they avoid it. Gabriel Fernandez: Who is Michael Lemos Carranza? Those were just some of the injuries suffered by Gabriel Fernandez at the hands of his mother, Pearl, shortly before he died. "Unfortunately, I think this is something that's gonna affect them the rest of their lives. The series originally had included the Contreras family, but to allow more time for healing, Contreras requested that their part be taken out. The boy's uncle said he and his wife have adopted two of the boy's siblings, telling jurors that the children experience feelings of guilt about what happened to their younger brother. In Netflixs documentary, Michaels partner David Martinez recalls: She didnt want him and the family didnt want her to have him. 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