Palmdale boy, 8, dies with skull fracture; mother, boyfriend held

An 8-year-old Palmdale boy died Friday after being hospitalized for a day with injuries suggesting torture, the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said.

Lt. David Smith said the coroner’s department had not received the body and cannot yet determine the cause of death.

The boy was discovered unconscious with a skull fracture, several broken ribs, cigarette burns and abrasions around his ankles that indicated he may have been tied up, according to KTLA-TV Channel 5.

Deputies with the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department in Palmdale arrested the boy’s mother, Pearl Fernandez, 29 and her boyfriend Isauro Aguirre, 32, on Thursday. During police interviews, Aguirre admitted causing the injuries to the child and Fernandez admitted that she was present and did not intervene during the assault, KTLA said.

Aguirre was booked on suspicion of attempted murder and was being held on $1-million bail. Fernandez was booked on suspicion of child abuse and her bail was set at $100,000, according to the online inmate database for the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department.

Aguirre’s hearing has been set for Tuesday.

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