Gabriel Fernandez's Case Involved Social Workers but Where Were They?
Where were the Gabriel Fernandez case social workers? The tragic dying of the child is chronicled on Netflix's 'The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez.'
The 2013 death of 8-year-old Gabriel Fernandez went beyond the scope of tragedy — the kid have been frequently abused by way of his mother, Pearl Fernandez and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, and the injuries provide on his frame on the time of his dying confirmed that he had long been struggling. The scary details of Fernandez's closing months in his brief existence were covered in Netflix's newest true crime docuseries, The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez.
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The abuse in and of itself is enough to make any commonplace individual filled with rage, but Gabriel Fernandez's death additionally integrated many missteps by the people citizens entrust to make balanced selections on behalf of children.
Fernandez's loss of life happened just six months after he was positioned within the care of his mom — prior to that, he was once raised by means of his loving uncle, and then via his grandparents.
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The shift in custody has now develop into a central center of attention of the case, and there's been an incredible center of attention at the social workers who could have been aware of what was once occurring at Fernandez's house.
Gabriel Fernandez's case included social workers, but what were they doing when the kid used to be suffering? Read on to determine more information about their involvement within the case, and how it turned into so mishandled within the weeks and months before his demise.
Where were the social workers in Gabriel Fernandez's case?
When Fernandez was brought into an L.A. medical institution on May 22, 2013, it was transparent that the child had endured horrendous abuse. Though his mother had claimed that Fernandez was unconscious as a result of hitting his head on a bed room wardrobe, it was obtrusive that his accidents were not the result of an twist of fate. Though docs and nurses attempted at duration to save his lifestyles, he in the long run succumbed to his accidents on May 24.
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Fernandez's skull was once cracked in a couple of places, which was once not from a wardrobe trauma. He also had multiple damaged ribs, and he have been shot within the face with a BB gun several occasions. His throat skin appeared to be burned, and he had ligature marks on his ankles. These marks pointed to a idea that he have been tied up and tortured sooner than.
In addition, Fernandez's teeth had been knocked out. It was later discovered that he would often be forced to consume his own urine and vomit.
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The injuries were devastating to people who treated him on the clinic, and straight away many people started to surprise how this could have happened to this sort of younger boy.
Once news broke about Gabriel Fernandez's dying, an investigation commenced into the L.A. County Board of Supervisors. The Board of Supervisors had an annual finances of $30 billion, and they oversaw many areas, including public hospitals, the district attorney's office, and the sheriff's division.
The Board additionally used to be in command of the kids and families well-being space, which would were conducting tests for youngsters like Gabriel Fernandez. Because Fernandez have been beneath the custody of more than a few family members all through his life, this department would have been checking on his residing conditions and ensuring that he was in a secure setting. Clearly, he was not.
Fernandez's mom had also been in the past investigated for mistreating her other kids.
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"The social workers were under scrutiny because they were suspected of making very serious errors," LA Times reporter Garrett Therolf stated in the documentary.
Eventually, after Therolf and other reporters selected to investigate the case further, it used to be came upon that four social workers had now not done their due diligence with Fernandez's case. They had even falsified paperwork bearing on his well-being.
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Patricia Clement and Stefanie Rodriguez were found out to be two of the social workers who had neglected their accountability. Both were soon fired from the dep., as were their supervisors, Gregory Merritt and Kevin Bom. In 2016, they were each and every charged with one felony depend of kid abuse.
It was once published that Fernandez's faculty instructor had personally contacted Rodriguez about how the kid looked to be suffering from abuse. Rodriguez confident the teacher that she would glance into it, but she never did.
Clement used to be meant to analyze after studying Fernandez have been shot with a BB gun. There is not any document that she ever did so.
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Where are the social workers in Gabriel Fernandez's case now?
For those who watched The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez and were hoping for whole justice, that isn't the finish of this story.
A decrease court docket later brushed aside the fees against the four social workers in January of 2020. Gregory Merritt appeared within the docuseries and expressed how he didn't assume he could have finished to any extent further for the kid. He additionally maintained that no one had approached him about inconsistencies in what used to be taking place to Fernandez and in his report.
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Multiple appeals from the prosecutor's place of work were denied, and the four are next anticipated to look in court docket on March 23, 2020. The listening to might be about the fees getting disregarded, and the District Attorney is anticipated to not appeal this dismissal. The four will therefore not be charged with the rest referring to the demise of Gabriel Fernandez.
Fernandez's mom's boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, won the demise penalty in 2018 for the 8-year-old's loss of life. Pearl Fernandez pleaded guilty to first degree homicide, and due to this fact did not get sentenced to death.
All six episodes of The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez are to be had to circulate on Netflix now.
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