Man fed cat feces to girlfriend’s 8-year-old son because he was gay

A man who hated his girlfriend’s son because he was gay tortured the child to death, according to prosecutors in California. Palmdale police said that they have arrested 37-year-old Isauro Aguirre after being accused of killing 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez. Aguirre has been found guilty of first-degree murder. He was also found guilty of a special circumstance infliction of torture. Aguirre faces life in prison without parole or the death penalty.
According to the police investigation, Aguirre and the boy’s mother, Pearl Fernandez, tortured the child over a period of several months. Prosecutors told the court that Aguirre routinely beat the child because he thought Gabriel was gay. Gabriel was fed cat feces, shot with a BB gun, and locked in a cabinet for long periods of time. One day, Aguirre beat the boy until he died. Aguirre then called 911 and confessed to beating the child to death. Aguirre’s defense attorney, Michael Sklar, admitted that his client was guilty of murder but denied that the boy was hated because he was gay.
Sklar claimed that Aguirre flew into a rage because the boy asked his mother to leave her boyfriend. Sklar asked the jury to dismiss the first-degree murder charge because the killing was not premeditated. Pearl, 34, is facing a charge of first-degree murder as well. She will be tried separately.
4 social workers who were involved with the family were also arrested for ignoring Gabriel’s plight. Stefanie Rodriguez, Patricia Clement, Kevin Bom, and Gregory Merritt were charged with child abuse and falsifying public records.