The trial of a man accused of torturing
his girlfriend's 8-year-old son to death opened Monday in a Los
Angeles courtroom.
According to KTLA, a Los Angeles County
District Attorney's Office prosecutor told jurors that Isauro Aguirre
killed Gabriel Fernandez because he thought he was gay.
Aguirre, 32, and his girlfriend Pearl
Fernandez, who also faces trial, have pleaded not guilty to charges
of capital murder and a special circumstance of torture.
On May 22, 2013, Pearl Fernandez called
911 to report that Gabriel was not breathing. Authorities found the
boy naked in a bedroom, his skull cracked, three ribs broken and BB
pellets embedded in his lung and groin. He died from his injuries
two days later in a hospital.
Prosecutor Jon Hatami said that the
couple called 911 in an attempt to mislead authorities.
“They didn't call 911 to help
Gabriel. They called 911 to cover up what they did. The defendant
lied on the 911 call,” Hatami
said.
He added that Aguirre made Gabriel go
to school dressed up in girls' clothes, and pointed out that Aguirre
towered over Gabriel at six-foot-two and 270 pounds.
Defense attorney John Allan said that
his client did not intend to “kill Gabriel with the infliction of
torture.”
“Despite the horrific abuse, Isauro
never intended for Gabriel to die,” he said.
Hatami said that text messages between
Aguirre and the boy's mother prove that they conspired to torture and
kill Gabriel.