Gabriel Daniel Fernandez

About

American child whose life and death became widely known because his case exposed major failures in child-protection systems and eventually became the subject of extensive media coverage including Netflix's 2020 docuseries The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez.

Before fame

He was a first-grade student who attended Summerwind Elementary School in Palmdale, California. His elementary school would later hold tributes and gatherings in his memory. His teacher Jennifer Garcia called the child-abuse hotline in late October 2012 after his disclosed harm to her. He would eventually be fatally beaten on May 22nd, 2013, and would pass away on May 24th, 2013. HIs mother and her boyfriend were arrested on May 23rd, 2013.

Trivia

In February 2019 jurors and members of the school community gathered at Summerwind Elementary to honor Gabriel in a rare example of jurors reconnecting publicly around a child victim's memory. His case was explored in The Netflix docuseries The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez which introduced the case to a global audience in February 2020.

Family life

He was from Palmdale, California. His mother Pearl Fernandez and her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre murdered him and were put on trial for their crimes.

Associated with

He became part of a much larger public conversation about child safety and justice in California with his case unfolding during the tenure of Governor Gavin Newsom.