Where Is Pearl Fernandez Now? Inside Her Life After the Shocking Crime

On May 22, 2013, Pearl Fernandez brutally murdered her 8-year-old son. She pleaded guilty in 2018 and was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. It’s been 13 years since. However, it remains one of the most disturbing murder cases ever seen.

Gabriel Fernandez, 8, was brutally abused by his mother, Pearl, and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, until he died. The Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said that Gabriel was often beaten by Aguirre because he believed that the child was gay.

The DA’s Office added that he was tortured to the point where he was forced to eat cat litter and feces. The couple made him sleep “bound and gagged inside a small cabinet.” From all the abuse, he suffered 12 broken ribs, burn marks, and a fractured skull.

The horrific incident came to light on May 22, 2013, when Pearl called 911, telling dispatchers that Gabriel had stopped breathing. When paramedics arrived at her Palmdale home, they found the boy with several major injuries, including broken ribs and a fractured skull. There were also several BB gun pellet marks across his body.

On May 24, 2013, Gabriel was taken off life support after being declared brain dead. Fernandez and Aguirre were both arrested as primary suspects in his death. Later it was revealed that on that day the woman and her boyfriend severely beat up the kid, just because he did not clean up his toys.

Initially, Fernandez was charged with felony endangerment and abuse, while Aguirre was charged with attempted murder. After the kid was taken off life support, they were both charged with first-degree murder with a special circumstance of torture.

In November 2017, Aguirre was found guilty of first-degree murder and the special circumstance of the infliction of torture. LA County Superior Court Judge George G. Lomeli handed him a death penalty. Meanwhile, Pearl pleaded guilty in February 2018. In June, she was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Following the sentencing, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a June 2018 statement, “This case showed how evil can not only inflict lasting damage to those who loved Gabriel but our society as well. The horrific nature of Gabriel’s abuse and murder has been seared into our minds, and the defendants will now spend the rest of their lives in prison for their reprehensible actions.”

Pearl is currently serving her sentence at the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla. In April 2021, she made her first bid for resentencing. In her petition, she stated that due to the changes to California’s penal code, she could not be convicted of first or second-degree murder anymore. Her bid was denied. In 2026, she made another petition, which was also denied. The California law allows her to make similar bids in the future as well.