A judge in Southern California on
Thursday sentenced a couple found guilty of torturing the woman's
8-year-old son to death.
According to The Orange County
Register, Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge George Lomeli
sentenced Pearl Fernandez, the boy's 34-year-old mother, to life in
prison and gave her boyfriend, 37-year-old Isauro Aguirre, the death
penalty.
On May 22, 2013, Fernandez called 911
to report that Gabriel Fernandez 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.
“It goes without saying that the
conduct was horrendous and inhumane and nothing short of evil,”
Lomeli
said. “It's beyond animalistic because animals know how to
take care of their young.”
Fernandez pleaded guilty to murder in
February, while a jury found Aguirre guilty of murder last year.
During Aguirre's trial, prosecutors
told jurors that he hated Gabriel because he suspected the boy was
gay.
Prosecutor Jon Hatami said that text
messages between Aguirre and Fernandez prove that they conspired to
torture and kill Gabriel. He also said that he believes the couple
called 911 in an attempt to mislead authorities.