The Modern Family.

[Gob]

Police and family services records have given a startling insight into the heartbreaking childhood of a 13-year-old boy accused of beating his two-year-old brother to death.



Cristian Fernandez reportedly suffered neglect at the hands of a teenage mother and a drug-abusing grandmother, sexual abuse by a cousin and physical assaults by a stepfather who went on to kill himself.

Fernandez, who was just 12 when he fatally smashed his brother's head against a book shelf, could become America's youngest ever 'lifer' after being charged as an adult over the murder.

But the case has ignited a fierce debate over whether the punishment is too strict for a child - particularly for one who was left to languish in a poisonous upbringing littered with abuse.

Fernandez was born in Miami, Florida in 1999 to Biannela Susana, who was just 12. The boy's 25-year-old father received 10 years' probation for sexually assaulting her.

Two years later, both mother and son went to foster care after authorities found the toddler filthy, naked and walking in the street at 4am near the motel where his grandmother, who was taking care of him, was found surrounded by cocaine.

In 2007, when Fernandez was eight, the Department of Children and Families investigated a report that he was sexually molested by an older cousin. Officials noted there were other troubling incidents: he killed a kitten; he simulated sex with classmates; he masturbated at school.

The boy learned to squelch his feelings, once telling a counselor: 'You got to suck up feelings and get over it.

By October 2010, Fernandez and his mother were living with her new husband when he suffered an eye injury so bad that his school sent him to the hospital where he was examined for retinal damage.

Fernandez told officers that his stepfather had punched him. When officers went to the family's apartment, they found the stepfather dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The family moved north to Jacksonville and Fernandez enrolled in middle school, getting straight A's, and they settled in a bland, beige public housing complex.

On June 3, 2011, deputies were called to the apartment: Fernandez's baby brother, David, was dead inside. He was found to have a fractured skull, bruising to his left eye and a bleeding brain.

Susana, then 25, admitted to investigators that she had left Fernandez, David and her other children home alone. When she returned, she said she found David unconscious.

It later emerged that Susana surfed the internet for four hours while her youngest child lay dying, and she even admitted to looking for information on child concussions before eventually calling police.

When they arrived, Susana revealed that two weeks before David's death, Cristian had broken the toddler's leg while wrestling.

The medical examiner said David might have survived if she had taken him to the hospital sooner for the head injury and she was charged with aggravated manslaughter. She pleaded guilty in March and could get 30 years behind bars.

Fernandez was charged with first-degree murder. Another felony charge was filed after his five-year-old half-brother told a psychiatrist that Fernandez had sexually assaulted him.

The boy has talked openly to investigators and therapists about his crimes and his life; the gritty details are captured in various court documents.

'Cristian denied any plans or intent to kill his brother,' one doctor wrote. 'He seemed rather defensive about discussing what triggered his anger.

'He talked about having a "flashback" of the abuse by his stepfather as the motive for this offense... Cristian was rather detached emotionally while discussing the incident.'

Fernandez has been charged as an adult and is the youngest inmate awaiting trial in Duval County.

Based on psychological evaluations, prosecutors say that Fernandez poses a significant risk of violence, which is why he has been detained and charged with two first-degree felonies.

If convicted of either crime, Fernandez could face a life sentence - a possibility that has stirred strong emotions among those for and against such strict punishment.

The case is one of the most complex and difficult in Florida's courts, and it could change how first-degree murder charges involving juvenile defendants are handled statewide.

One complication involves whether Fernandez understood his rights during police interrogations.

Richard Kuritz, a former Jacksonville prosecutor who is now a defense attorney, said everyone agrees that Fernandez should face consequences if convicted - but what should they be?

'

[dgs49]

(a) The USSC either has, or will shortly, rule that LWOP for juveniles is unconstitutional. I think it's already done.

(b) Like it or not, "values" have to be taught. The boy is a classic sociopath. Not surprising considering his bio.

(c) He is undoubtedly not the only one like him.

[dales]

What dgs stated.

The poor little guy is just the tip of a toxic iceberg.

We walk amongst beasts.

[Jarlaxle]

Kindest thing you could do for this kid is probably euthanize him...no different than putting down a rabid dog.

[oldr_n_wsr]

I can only shake my head at this.
Very, very sad.
Some people should not multiply.

[Guinevere]

Another example of the real cost of poverty. And Mittens wants to toss of these people into the trash heap, instead of figuring out how to help them get up and out. Of course, that many of you do as well is equally sickening.

[Scooter]

Where does anyone get the idea that a 12 year old should be tried as an adult, regardless of how heinous the crime they have committed?

We don't let 12 year olds vote, or drink, or smoke, or sign contracts. We don't believe they can consent to have sex. All of that because we understand they lack the judgment necessary to make appropriately informed choices for any of those things. Why is it that criminal law is the ONE area where we believe that 12 year olds have the faculties of adults and should be treated as such?

Can anyone provide a logical reason for that?

[dales]

I believe that under the juvenile system, the defendant would be released upon reaching the age of majority.

[Scooter]

And so...?

How does that factor into whether his/her brain has developed enough to be held to the same standard as an adult?

[Big RR]

A 12 year old would ordinarily be detained until the age of majority for juvenile offenses; clearly, there are some situations where further detention is warranted to protect society. There should be some sentencing guidelines to take this into account; trying them as an adult makes no sense and just reinforces the perception on behalf of the child that they are being tossed away.

[Jarlaxle]

And so...?

How does that factor into whether his/her brain has developed enough to be held to the same standard as an adult?

How about parking this little psycho next door to YOU when he is cut loose? Oh, and his records will be sealed, since hes a juvenile, so you wont know hes a psycho!

[Scooter]

How does that factor into whether his/her brain has developed enough to be held to the same standard as an adult?

Bueller?

Bueller?

Anybody?

[dales]

Bueller here....

Brain development has been severly hampered by abuse suffered during childhood. Reaching the age of 18, 21, 15, 36 is meaningless with the child.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Another example of the real cost of poverty. And Mittens wants to toss of these people into the trash heap, instead of figuring out how to help them get up and out. Of course, that many of you do as well is equally sickening.

Seems the current system (of which Mittens had nothing to do with) already tossed this kid into the trash heap. Rather then bring presidential election candidates (seems Obama is the current one) into this, perhaps the focus should be on the systems already in place which apparently failed spectacularly.

[Scooter]

Bueller here....

Brain development has been severly hampered by abuse suffered during childhood. Reaching the age of 18, 21, 15, 36 is meaningless with the child.

So with no prospect of achieving the brain development of an adult, he should be tried as an adult regardless? What sort of sense does that make?

[dales]

You're the JUDGE, render a verdict and sentance the kid.

[Scooter]

Should we strap electrodes to his balls and flip the switch, would that satisfy you?

[dales]

You might want to keep you sexual fetishes to yourself, this is not the proper forum.

All seriousness aside, I believe the best course of action would be to place him in a secure medical facility and have him accessed.

None of us here have anymore information of the kid's mental faculties.

[Andrew D]

Where does anyone get the idea that a 12 year old should be tried as an adult, regardless of how heinous the crime they have committed?

We don't let 12 year olds vote, or drink, or smoke, or sign contracts. We don't believe they can consent to have sex. All of that because we understand they lack the judgment necessary to make appropriately informed choices for any of those things. Why is it that criminal law is the ONE area where we believe that 12 year olds have the faculties of adults and should be treated as such?

Because, supposedly, there is an essential difference between voting/drinking/smoking/contracting*/consenting on one hand and criminal liability on the other. The former things have to do with what rights youngsters have; the latter has to do with what obligations youngsters are subject to. We are very restrictive about the former and ludicrously expansive about the latter.

Can anyone provide a logical reason for that?

It hasn't happened yet ....

(* Although we, in general, prohibit minors from entering into contracts, we generally do regard as enforceable against the non-minor (voidable at the instance of the minor) contracts for providing the minor with basic necessities.)

[rubato]

A 12-year old with a pretty horrific history of abuse?

You can't give him life without; if you never gave him a chance to begin with.

yrs,
rubato