LANCASTER - A Palmdale couple were charged on Tuesday with capital murder in the beating of the woman's 8-year-old son, who died last week.
Pearl Sinthia Fernandez, 29, and her boyfriend, Isauro Aguirre, 32, were ordered to be held without bail while they await arraignment June 11 in Lancaster Superior Court.
The murder charge includes the special circumstance allegation of murder during the commission of torture. The District Attorney's Office will decide later whether to seek the death penalty against the pair.
Los Angeles County Fire Department personnel were sent around 11 p.m. Wednesday to a residence in the 200 block of East Avenue Q-10 in response to a report that the boy, Gabriel, was not breathing, according to sheriff's Sgt. Brian Hudson.
The boy -- who had been hospitalized in critical condition since Wednesday night -- died Friday.
Investigators said he suffered a fractured skull, several broken ribs and burns.