Suspected to be gay, 8-year-old beaten and forced to eat cat poo, killed by mum

An eight-year-old boy was beaten, starved, locked in a wardrobe and forced to eat cat poo before being killed by his mother who thought he was gay

The woman, Pearl Fernandez was sentenced to life and her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre will be executed for their crimes in Los Angeles, California.

The murderous couple inflicted eight-months of horrific abuse on little Gabriel Fernandez before finally killing him in May 2013.

The child was repeatedly beaten, starved, tied up, locked in a cabinet, shot in the genitals with a BB gun and even had his teeth knocked out with a bat.

The couple reportedly would ram socks in his mouth to muffle his cries while he was locked in the cupboard.

They even forced the poor lad to eat his own vomit and cat excrement.

The mother would make him wear girls' clothes to school and batter him if he caught him playing with dolls.

Teachers raised the alarm after the boy demonstrated how to snort cocaine and arrived at school bleeding having been beaten with a belt but social workers dismissed the concerns.

According to reports, Fernandez called 911 on May 22, 2013, to report that her son wasn't breathing. She told responding deputies that he had fallen and hit his head on a dresser.

The boy had a fractured skull, broken ribs, burns across his body and BB gun pellets embedded in his lung.

He died two days later of blunt-force trauma and neglect, the coroner's office found.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge George Lomeli told the couple that he hopes they wake up in the middle of the night and think of the injuries they inflicted on Gabriel.

Fernandez pleaded guilty to murder in February in the death of her son.

A jury found Aguirre guilty of murder last year and found that he intentionally tortured the boy.

Gabriel's siblings testified that Fernandez and Aguirre would call the boy gay, punish him if he played with dolls and forced him to wear girls' clothes to school.

Shortly before his death a counsellor had phoned police after finding a suicide note written by the boy.

Prosecutors have since filed charges of child abuse and falsifying records against four county social workers in Gabriel's death.