A nurse who cared for an 8-year-old California boy who passed away from abuse and torture, allegedly at the hands of his mother and stepfather, testified in court on Friday about the child’s extreme injuries.
ABC7 reports that Alison Segal, a registered nurse who works at the Antelope Valley Hospital in Lancaster, was working the night little Gabriel Fernandez was admitted into the hospital in May 2013. Segal took the stand to offer additional details about the boy’s injuries during Isauro Aguirre’s trial.
Aguirre, 37, the boy’s stepfather, is on trial for capital murder after Gabriel passed away from his injuries. His wife and Gabriel’s mother, Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, 34, is scheduled to be tried separately on similar charges.
Child abuse murder trial resumes in Downtown LA, nurse now descr massive injuries to 8 y/o Gabriel Fernandez. @KFIAM640 @GaryandShannon pic.twitter.com/ueyVoTLNP7
— Eric Leonard (@LeonardFiles) October 20, 2017
Segal testified that she worked in the hospital’s forensics unit when Gabriel was brought in, and her part of duties included providing medical service to patients who were victims of abuse. The nurse said she had a difficult time assessing Gabriel, as his injuries were so significant that she couldn’t perform her routine comprehensive assessment. Authorities rushed the little boy to the Children’s Hospital Los Angeles shortly after, Segal said.
Man Tortured Girlfriend’s 8-Year-Old Son to Death Because he was Gay
A 32-years-old man Isauro Aguirre has been a… https://t.co/Eh6Co3QNwA pic.twitter.com/O4xnq6jogH
— Olorisupergal (@OloriSupergal) October 19, 2017
According to Gabriel’s medical chart, his parents claimed he fell while showering, but after looking him over, Segal said she knew that’s not what happened.
Not only was his temperature just 88 degrees, but Segal said Gabriel had a BB gun bullet lodged in his groin, bruising all over his body, BB gun injuries on his neck, a cracked skull, genital trauma, missing skin on his neck, missing teeth, and cuts inside his mouth,
“There were abrasions. There were open wounds. There was bruising. There was swelling. There was marks on the legs. There was skin missing off the top of the neck, so there were multiple injuries on Gabriel…head to toe.”
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Aguirre and Fernandez were arrested and charged with murdering the boy, but both deny the allegations. According to the prosecutor in the case, Gabriel underwent eight months of torture and abuse before he ultimately passed away.
“This was essentially the beginning of the eight months of torture and abuse of Gabriel Fernandez by Pearl Fernandez and Isauro Aguirre in Palmdale,” the prosecutor wrote during the grand jury indictment hearing earlier this year.
The prosecutor also alleged that Aguirre continuously tortured Gabriel because the though the boy was gay, according to Daily News.
Further, two social workers are facing charges after they reportedly falsified public records so that Gabriel would remain with Aguirre and Fernandez.
Earlier last week, Gabriel’s older sister, 14-year-old “Virginia,” testified that she witnessed Aguirre and Fernandez forcing the boy to eat feces. She also said she witnessed Aguirre punching Gabriel in the head numerous times on May 22, 2013, the day the little boy died. Virginia said that after a harsh blow knocked the boy unconscious, Aguirre “panicked” and put Gabriel in a cold shower, and began slapping him over and over in an attempt to wake him up.
The defense called Virginia back to the stand on Friday, in an attempt to get her to admit it was the mother who shot Gabriel with a BB gun, beat him with a bat, and ordered her to clean up blood on the night the boy died.
Aguirre’s trial resumes on Monday.
[Feature Photo: Family Handout]
