Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami delivers closing remarks in Downtown Los Angeles on November 13th, 2017.
A prosecutor asked a jury in Downtown Los Angeles Monday to find a man guilty of murdering his girlfriend’s 8-year-old son -- after inflicting months of horrific physical abuse.
“There is evil in this room,” Los Angeles County Deputy District Attorney Jonathan Hatami told jurors.
“It’s right over there,” he said, and pointed at Isauro Aguirre, who’s charged with torturing and beating Gabriel Fernandez to death in May, 2013.
“I need you to embrace all of the evidence, and then I need you to embrace the law,” Hatami said.
“Gabriel can’t tell you what happened to him, I need you to hear me.”
Physical evidence presented during the trial showed the boy had suffered excruciating abuse for at least eight months before he was killed, and Hatami said it appears it was because Aguirre suspected Fernandez was gay.
Aguirre could face a death sentence if he’s convicted of the murder with the special circumstance allegation of torture.
The defense said at the beginning of the trial Aguirre never intended to murder Fernandez but admitted Aguirre caused the boy’s death.
The boy’s mother Pearl will be tried separately on the same charges once this trial concludes.