Mother Claims Coercion in Guilty Plea Over Allegations of Son’s Confinement and Abuse with Partner

A mother from California, who was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life imprisonment for the horrific abuse and murder of her 8-year-old son, is once again seeking resentencing. Pearl Fernandez, 42, claims she was “coerced” into pleading guilty, a plea that led to her life sentence without the possibility of parole. This marks her second attempt at resentencing after a previous denial in 2021.

Fernandez, hailing from Palmdale, argues that her state-appointed defense attorney failed her by providing ineffective counsel and pressuring her into admitting guilt. As reported by local ABC affiliate KABC and City News Service, Fernandez’s plea was entered in 2018, where she confessed to the egregious abuse and torture of her son, Gabriel Fernandez. The young boy succumbed to prolonged suffering, inflicted through blunt force trauma and other forms of child abuse.

Isauro Aguirre, Fernandez’s boyfriend at the time, was also convicted for his role in the abuse and received a death sentence. Despite the severity of the crimes, Fernandez continues to contest her involvement, echoing claims from her 2021 resentencing attempt that she was not complicit in Gabriel’s 2013 death.

During the first attempt at resentencing, Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami detailed the appalling conditions Gabriel endured, including being forced to eat cat feces and being confined to a small wooden drawer for extended periods. Fernandez was accused of neglecting to seek medical help for her son and of further abuses such as pepper-spraying him and hitting him with a baseball bat.

“Clearly, Pearl was involved in that child abuse,” Hatami asserted during the hearing, according to the Los Angeles Times. Despite these harrowing allegations and Fernandez’s previous resentencing denial, she continues to seek a reevaluation of her sentence, maintaining her narrative of coercion in the plea process.

Last week, Fernandez filed papers claiming she still deserved to be resentenced and noted how she had received assistance with her latest petition, KABC and CNS report.

Fernandez alleges that “the petitioner has comprehension issues and documented verbal comprehension of a second grade student” and that she was “mistakenly under the impression that her case would then be going to appeal” when she signed the plea agreement before her 2018 conviction.

Hatami told CNS that he plans to once again “fight to make sure this doesn’t happen.” A hearing has been set for March 30.

“These repeated requests to be re-sentenced are unfair and unjust to Gabriel, Gabriel’s family, his siblings and our L.A. community,” Hatami blasted. “Having to continuously relive these events and trauma for the family is not humane. At some point in the criminal justice process, we must stand up for the victims and for justice. So, as long as I’m around this planet, I will continue to do my part and make sure Gabriel receives justice and is never forgotten.”

Fernandez was accused of abusing her son because she “believed the boy was gay,” according to a 2018 press release announcing her guilty plea.

“Gabriel suffered numerous injuries, including a fractured skull, 12 broken ribs and burns,” the press release from the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office said.

Fernandez pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and admitted to the special circumstance allegation of intentional murder by torture. Aguirre was found guilty of first-degree murder and the special circumstance allegation of intentional murder by torture.

As previously reported by Law&Crime, social workers who handled Gabriel’s abuse case were accused of felony child abuse and falsifying public records, but had their cases dismissed in 2020. Their defense attorneys argued that the abuse Gabriel suffered got worse after the state closed out the boy’s file. They also said the social workers did not have enough evidence to take the boy away from his mother.