Fernandez is alleged to have beaten his younger brother David Galarriago to death at their home in Jacksonville, Florida, in March. The two-year-old died from a fractured skull that caused bleeding on the brain. He died two days after being admitted to a hospital. An autopsy showed the injuries were caused with blunt force trauma consistent with being punched in the head. Fernandez had previously assaulted his brother and broken his leg.
Prosecutor Angela Corey said: ‘We have to protect the public from this young man’. She recommended that he face trial as an adult. Ms Corey said the public had a ‘right to be protected’ from him. If Fernandez were charged as a juvenile and convicted he would be free by the time he is 21.
Prosecutors decided to charge Fernandez as an adult rather than a juvenile defender after reviewing his history of violence and behavior. ‘The fact that we indicted a 12-year-old in and of itself is a stunning event and a sad event in our prosecutorial lives that we had to do this, but it is the only legal mechanism that we can use to protect the community from this particular defendant at this point’.
According to an arrest report, Fernandez was looking after his younger brother at their home on the 11000 block of Alden Road, while their mother Biannela Susana was out.
When she returned to the family’s apartment she found the toddler unconscious. Instead of calling for an ambulance she wiped his face clean of blood, changed his clothes and put ice on his head, hoping it was just a concussion and the boy would wake up.
Source: DailyMail
What a truly sad story. Do you think a 12yr should be tried as an adult and sentenced to life in prison? Or maybe they should take him to a mental institution instead?
