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Isauro Aguirre (born June 13, 1980) is an American murderer and child abuser. He, alongside his then-wife, Pearl Fernandez, is responsible for the murder of Fernandez's 8-year old son, Gabriel Fernandez, after subjecting him to months of torture and child abuse.[1] The case gained national attention following the release of the six-part Netflix documentary The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez,[2] and has lead to reforms regarding how local governments handle child abuse.
Aguirre is currently sitting on death row at San Quentin State Prison.
Biography edit
Before the murder edit
Aguirre repeated two grades in school and ultimately dropped out, implying a possible learning disability. He worked for Woodland Park Retirement Hotel where he was a caregiver and a driver.
Executive director of the retirement home and former boss of Aguirre, Susan Weisbarth, described him as a "quiet, down to earth nice person, always willing to help.” She also commented that throughout his three-year employment he was patient and loving, and would commonly change the diapers of elderly residents at the facility. Staff at the facility nicknamed him "Shaggy," which was, according to Weisbarth, a term referencing his endearment.
In October 2012, Aguirre began working as a security guard for AVL Private Security; through AVL he worked at the Vallarta Market in Palmdale, California. Aguirre met Pearl Fernandez roughly a year and a half to two years before they took custody of Gabriel.
Abuse and murder of Gabriel Fernandez edit
Gabriel Fernandez was in the custody of Aguirre and Pearl for a total of six months before his death. During that time, he was systematically abused and tortured. The abuse included being forced to eat cat litter and feces, forced to eat his own vomit, regularly beaten which caused broken bones, burned in various parts of the body, shot in various areas of the body including the face and groin with a BB gun, forced to wear female clothing, forced to sleep bound and gagged in a small cupboard, pepper-sprayed, burned with cigarettes, given cold baths, and forced to eat spoiled or expired foods. One of Gabriel’s therapists also reported that Gabriel said that Aguirre forced him to perform oral sex on a family member.
According to Gabriel's siblings, while he was being abused, Aguirre and Pearl would laugh. Aguirre reportedly abused Gabriel because he believed he was homosexual. The abuse and torture did not extend to Gabriel's siblings.
On May 22, 2013, Pearl Fernandez called 9-1-1 to report that Gabriel was not breathing. He had been fatally beaten by Aguirre after failing to clean up his toys. When first responders arrived, they found him on the ground naked with several injuries. Aguirre explained to them that Fernandez was "gay", despite the information being irrelevant. Paramedics rushed him to the hospital where doctors declared him brain dead. He passed away two days later on May 24, 2013 at the Children's Hospital Los Angeles.
Aftermath and legal proceedings edit
Aguirre pleaded not guilty to the charge of first-degree murder with special circumstances of torture. When the trial began jurors were given details about the extensive abuse Gabriel went through in the months preceding his fatal beating. Prosecutor Jon Hatami called Aguirre "pure evil" and argued that he deserved the death penalty even though it "doesn't even compare to what he did to Gabriel."
Jury deliberation began on November 14, 2017, and a verdict was reached the next afternoon. Ultimately, the jury found him guilty of first-degree murder and guilty of the circumstances of torture charges.
On December 11, 2017 jury deliberation began for the sentencing phase. The next day the jury was deadlocked; however, on December 13 they decided to recommend the death penalty, which was accepted by Judge George G. Lomeli.[3]