On May 24, 2013, Gabriel Daniel Fernandez (February 20, 2005 – May 24, 2013), an eight-year-old boy from Palmdale, California, who had been abused and tortured over a period of months, died due to a beating from his mother, Pearl Fernandez, and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, two days earlier. Pearl Fernandez and Isauro Aguirre were charged and convicted of first-degree murder with special circumstances of torture. According to prosecutors, Aguirre allegedly abused Gabriel due to his perceived homosexuality. Pearl was sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole and Aguirre was sentenced to death.

Social workers associated with the Fernandez case were charged with child neglect and falsifying public records because of their handling of his case. Ultimately, their charges were dismissed by an appeals court.