Television The Trials of Gabriel Fernandez

[Bojan11]

Anybody watched this on Netflix? Three episodes in can’t believe this was allowed to go on so long.

Don’t know how anybody could torture a kid like that. The worst bit is when the sheriffs were called they put the kid in the back of the car and told him they’d put him in jail if he keeps lying. Crazy how the system had 100s of chances to get him out the house and they just didn’t bother.

 

[RexHamilton]

Just finished episode 2. I genuinely don’t know if a tv show has ever hit me as hard. It’s just been 2 hours describing the most horrendous, relentless torture of a defenceless 8 year old boy.

 

[Vidic_In_Moscow]

Have just watched three or four episodes, I say watched, more like saw it briefly through four hours of continuous tears. So heartbreaking. Praying those cnuts got what was coming to them.

 

[Ekeke]

I've seen 3 episodes so far. Absolutely heartbreaking

 

[Rado_N]

Yea just watched the first three episodes earlier this evening and then had to turn it off for the night as it was just too heart wrenching.

The amount of people who let this kid down is just appalling.

 

[izec]

Don't want to start watching this now before going to bed, i may not sleep the whole night then if it is that heartbreaking.

 

[Fooza]

Just finished all 6 episodes today, and all I was thinking through out was how could this have gone on in a first world country -where people who are in important jobs just don't do a thorough job along with the people above them. It's was just so shocking that social workers and police didn't stop it even through regular visits.

What's even more shocking and I don't want to ruin for those who haven't finished watching it...

Spoiler

it happened again with Anthony Alvalos in the same bleeding state and it was very much similar to Gabriel Fernandez case, just how is it even possible? They didn't even learn from it

 

[Utdstar01]

Was he tortured

Spoiler

mainly because they suspected he was gay?

Only got a bit into episode 2. Gonna carry on watching tonight.

 

[Ekeke]

fecking Maximus

 

[Ali Dia]

The hardest watch I’ve had in a long time. Absolutely heartbreaking and it all could have been avoided.

 

[Massive Spanner]

I'm 4 episodes in now. It's really unrelenting in how brutal it is, but necessary I think. The system completely failed that poor kid at all levels. The only person who has come across in any way positive so far in the process is the

Spoiler

security guard in the welfare office, who I like to think had a similar reaction to I would with "what the feck, why isn't someone doing something about this?"

Even his teacher who's response was generally just to ring someone about it and then completely ignore it in her personal life, feck her.

 

[Tarrou]

had to turn it off

will get back to it though as I really want to see the plethora of cnuts who went out of their way to feck this up so bad see some justice

 

[Wednesday at Stoke]

I was disturbed reading the LA Times articles on the case, I don't think I have the stomach to watch this.

 

[RexHamilton]

I'm 4 episodes in now. It's really unrelenting in how brutal it is, but necessary I think. The system completely failed that poor kid at all levels. The only person who has come across in any way positive so far in the process is the

Spoiler

security guard in the welfare office, who I like to think had a similar reaction to I would with "what the feck, why isn't someone doing something about this?"

Even his teacher who's response was generally just to ring someone about it and then completely ignore it in her personal life, feck her.

I agree that the teacher could have done more, but more would have been making more phone calls. She could see right away that the school didn't have her back. She couldn't physically keep the child in school in what would have amounted to kidnapping. There's a process. She reported what she saw to be abuse. She was really powerless after that. If it was a kid in my class, I'd like to think I'd have kept making those phone calls, day after day, but that's about all we have the power to do.

It's a shit system, but she didn't really have any more options.

 

[Bojan11]

I agree that the teacher could have done more, but more would have been making more phone calls. She could see right away that the school didn't have her back. She couldn't physically keep the child in school in what would have amounted to kidnapping. There's a process. She reported what she saw to be abuse. She was really powerless after that. If it was a kid in my class, I'd like to think I'd have kept making those phone calls, day after day, but that's about all we have the power to do.

It's a shit system, but she didn't really have any more options.

Yep I blame Stephanie for that. She visited the house several times and did feck all. She didn’t bother taking the kid to the doctors or anything. Even if she genuinely felt the parents did nothing the kid still needed to see a doctor. Deplorable women and his death should be on her conscious too.

 

[Denis79]

I haven't cried since my children were born but this documentary completely broke me down, I couldn't hold back the tears.

 

[Brwned]

Was he tortured

Spoiler

mainly because they suspected he was gay?

Only got a bit into episode 2. Gonna carry on watching tonight.

In the end

Spoiler

along with being traumatic, it's a very unsatisfying story because there's basically no answer to "why"? Homophobia played a role but there's no indication it was the driving force.

Like many child abusers, his mum was abused as a child and had a misguided moral compass on what a parent should be, but he didn't. The suggestion is that he was so terrified of losing her that she used that to incense him so much that he would beat it out of Gabriel, at least in the eventual murder. But what made him do it month after month, what gave them both pleasure from talking about his torture in those text messages? And why is it that they were so monstrous towards him, when they seemed perfectly normal around his brother and sister? Can homophobia really cause them to make such an unbelievable leap?

He never talked about it so we have no insight whatsoever into what went through his head. It's really creepy that he was able to do that when he seemed so kind and tender in that job in the care home.

From the little she said, you could tell she had no remorse about Gabriel's murder whatsoever. At worst it was an unfortunate accident, a perfectly normal beating that just got out of hand. She's more upset that it upset her family than the fact he died. She doesn't think the fact she tortured her son for months is a good reason for her two other kids to cut ties with her.

It's just unsettling that there's no real explanation for how someone could feel and act that way...

 

[Massive Spanner]

it's a stunning documentary, so detailed and well made, and so fecking heartbreaking. I completely lost it in the last episode when

Spoiler

The jury read out his verdict. You could tell by the reaction of the DA that he really cared.

I can't believe something like this can be allowed to happen in the richest democracy in the world, and then for it to happen again. I really hope the DCFS gets reformed.

 

[Rado_N]

Government welfare contracted out to for profit companies. Children in the most desperate situations seen as revenue generation sources.

America is fundamentally broken.

Not that this is new information, but fecking hell.

 

[Rado_N]

Just finished the final episode and I feel so angry and depressed.

I just don’t have the words.

 

[thepolice123]

In the end

Spoiler

along with being traumatic, it's a very unsatisfying story because there's basically no answer to "why"? Homophobia played a role but there's no indication it was the driving force.

Like many child abusers, his mum was abused as a child and had a misguided moral compass on what a parent should be, but he didn't. The suggestion is that he was so terrified of losing her that she used that to incense him so much that he would beat it out of Gabriel, at least in the eventual murder. But what made him do it month after month, what gave them both pleasure from talking about his torture in those text messages? And why is it that they were so monstrous towards him, when they seemed perfectly normal around his brother and sister? Can homophobia really cause them to make such an unbelievable leap?

He never talked about it so we have no insight whatsoever into what went through his head. It's really creepy that he was able to do that when he seemed so kind and tender in that job in the care home.

From the little she said, you could tell she had no remorse about Gabriel's murder whatsoever. At worst it was an unfortunate accident, a perfectly normal beating that just got out of hand. She's more upset that it upset her family than the fact he died. She doesn't think the fact she tortured her son for months is a good reason for her two other kids to cut ties with her.

It's just unsettling that there's no real explanation for how someone could feel and act that way...

I had the exact same thoughts but its understandable given that the documentary was more focused on social commentary rather than being a crime related one.

Spoiler

In the end the only conclusion I could arrived to was that both the mother and boyfriend are simply people who are very mentally ill. Dysfunctional people will always be drawn together. People like these usually have a distinct lack of empathy which lead them to performing incredibly inhumane acts.

The other two siblings were abused as well, just not on the level of Gabriel. I think that is probably because the mother did not have any emotional attachment to him, given that he was outside of her life from birth. I think being the youngest child and the only child she didn't want, Gabriel represented the ex-boyfriend who she had an extremely tumultuous relationship and hated. Things like these usually happen in dysfunctional families where a "black sheep" is targetted.

As for the boyfriend, he is homophobic and maybe a closet psychopath. Serial killers are well-known for being able function in perfectly normal jobs, that is what makes them so creepy and hard to identify. So its not exactly surprising to see him work in a nursing home. He also probably developed that deep, bubbling resentment underneath while looking after those annoying grannies, which he projected onto Gabriel.

Both of them served as the catalyst for each other. The mother likely to be the instigator while the boyfriend carried out the torture and escalated it. People underestimate how intoxicating these monstrous acts can be to psychopaths.

 

[diarm]

I'm fundamentally against the death penalty but it's hard to argue that those two don't deserve it for what they've done.

And the idea that Maximus exists and fulfils that role for profit absolutely beggars belief. I can't remember the last thing I watched that shook me as much as this did.

 

[Vidic_In_Moscow]

Just watched episode 5 and I'm in bits.

 

[choiboyx012]

It touched upon the human error factor of people working in local government which i know all too well. It also shows how the system is so bloated and overloaded with red-tape and “procedure”, with very little accountability or cohesion among the different entities including law enforcement, schools, dcfs, etc

 

[2mufc0]

This was gut wrenching to watch, unfathomable how the authorities never stepped in.

After looking up his story more I came accross another case of Adrien Jones, I never thought there could be a case worse than Gabriel's but this one was just terrible. And he could have been saved too if the authorities did their jobs properly.

 

[Catt]

Watching this documentary now. On episode 3 which focuses on the teacher. This is horrendous, the system is f..... up.