The Cristian Fernandez Story

As her son lie bleeding and unconscious in the bedroom beside hers, Biannela Susana surfed the Internet. She downloaded music, logged into YouTube, checked her online bank account, and searched Pipa and Kate Middleton gossip. She made a couple of medical-related searches, including those for “concussion” and “unconscious for hours.”

David Had an Accident

Susana rushed home from running errands after her 12-year-old son, Cristian Fernandez, called her around 9 a.m to say that David fell from his bunk bed and was unconscious. She did not call a doctor nor take the toddler to a hospital until about 5:25 p.m. more than 7 hours after her first search for “gets knocked out.” Had she taken the toddler to a hospital, he could have survived his injuries.

David arrived at the hospital, his eyes rolled back in his head; his body limp. He wore a blue cast over a broken leg, an injury he received the previous January after Cristian attacked him. Susana told investigators the injury happened at a playground because she did not want the Department of Children and Family Services to remove them from her care. She waited two days to take him to the hospital.

David was life-flighted to a local trauma center but never woke up. He was removed from life support two days later.

Home Alone

Susana left Cristian home alone with David and her 5-year-old son while she ran errands.

Police charged Susana with manslaughter and took her into custody.

Yet, they felt that something was not right with the story. After finding blood in several rooms and areas of the home, police took Cristian to the station for additional questioning.

Cristian Confesses

Initially, Cristian stuck with the story of David falling from the bunk bed. Finally, he came clean, admitting to slamming his brother’s head into a bookcase several times because he was angry. When the boy fell unconscious, Cristian picked him up and laid him in his bed. He denied intent to kill his brother and several times asked police if doctors could “wake him up?”

Cristian made another shocking confession during the police interview: He told police he sexually abused his 5-year-old sibling.

He was taken into custody, charged as an adult with first-degree murder and sexual assault.

Prosecutors contend that Cristian repeatedly slammed 2-year-old half-brother David Galarraga's head on a bookshelf to kill him. The psychological report shows Fernandez's perception of the death from the Meadows interview:

"He said that he picked up his younger brother and pushed him into the bookcase. He said that his brother was bleeding and unresponsive so he carried him to the bed and called his mother.

"Cristian denied any plans or intent to kill his brother. 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."

Susana Became a Mother at Age 12

Susana became pregnant with Cristian at age 11 and gave birth at age 12. His father, 20-year-old Jose Fernandez, said Susana would not leave him alone and came to him to get the love and affection her mother did not give. He left shortly after Cristian’s birth.

She then married a man named Luis Galarraga who almost immediately began to sexually abuse Cristian. When police learned of the abuse, an investigation began. Last year, they issued an arrest warrant for his arrest. Learning this information, Luis fatally shot himself in the head in front of David and the 5-year-old.

That’s when the family relocated to Jacksonville where Cristian attended sixth grade at Kernan Middle School. He was a straight-A student.

Sentencing & Case Aftermath

Susana pleaded guilty to manslaughter. A judge spared her jail time and placed her on probation for 10-years. She admitted in court that Cristian had a horrible life and that she should have been a better mother.

A judge dismissed Cristian’s confession, citing he did not understand his Miranda rights during police questioning. Without the confession, prosecutors did not have enough evidence to prosecute him on the sexual assault charge. It was dismissed but the first-degree murder charge stuck.

Cristian was found guilty of first-degree murder as an adult but the judge handed down a juvenile life sentence. He was released from juvenile detention in July 2018 at age 19 and placed on probation.

The judge also ordered Cristian to stay away from minors and not to have contact with his surviving siblings unless they first contacted him.