Pearlene Valavala died after hours of punishment tied to text messages, prosecutors say.

LOS ANGELES, Calif. — A mother and stepfather were sentenced to 22 years to life in prison after prosecutors said they tortured a 16-year-old girl to death in 2021 because she had exchanged text messages with teenage boys.

Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Scott Yang sentenced Oriana Estela Elias, 38, and Vincent Gibbs, 39, on April 2 at the Michael Antonovich Antelope Valley Courthouse. The sentencing closed a case that began with the death of Pearlene Valavala on Aug. 15, 2021, and ended with guilty verdicts for murder, torture and child abuse. Prosecutors said the teen died inside a trailer bathroom after hours of forced exercise and beatings.

The case centered on what prosecutors described as a punishment that turned fatal. Elias and Gibbs became upset after finding messages Pearlene had sent to teenage boys, according to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office. Prosecutors said the couple forced the girl to do strenuous exercises outside in the hot sun, then beat her for several hours with a wooden plank and a belt. District Attorney Nathan J. Hochman said the sentence reflected “an unthinkable betrayal by parents who are meant to protect their children from harm.”

Authorities said the violence unfolded while Pearlene’s sisters watched. The family had been living in a trailer, and the girl later collapsed in a makeshift bathroom inside it, prosecutors said. The trailer had no running water or electricity, according to the district attorney’s office. After Pearlene collapsed and died, Elias and Gibbs called 911. Prosecutors said Elias told the victim’s sisters not to tell police or paramedics what had happened. The court record described the case as both a fatal abuse case and an effort to keep young witnesses from reporting what they had seen.

The jury reached its verdicts March 17 after a trial that began in January. Elias was convicted of second-degree murder, torture, child abuse and two felony counts of dissuading a witness from reporting a crime. Jurors also found true an allegation that she caused great bodily injury. Gibbs was convicted of second-degree murder, torture and child abuse. Jurors also found true allegations that he caused great bodily injury and used a weapon during the crime. Both defendants had earlier pleaded not guilty after being arrested and arraigned in April 2025.

The criminal complaint said Elias and Gibbs acted with the intent to cause cruel and extreme pain and suffering. It said the abuse was done for revenge, persuasion and a sadistic purpose. Prosecutors did not describe the messages as criminal conduct by Pearlene. They said the messages were the trigger for the defendants’ anger. The available public record does not state how long the family had lived in the trailer, who owned it or how many people were inside when the abuse began. It also does not state what medical findings were presented at trial.

Hochman said Pearlene “was denied the chance to grow up and become who she was meant to be.” The district attorney credited Deputy District Attorneys Suzanna Friedman and Diane Hong of the Family Violence Division, Antelope Valley Branch, with prosecuting the case. The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Homicide Bureau investigated the death. The prosecution’s account showed a case built on witness statements, the condition of the trailer, the alleged weapons and the timeline from the punishment to the emergency call. No defense statements were included in the sentencing announcement.

The sentence means Elias and Gibbs face life terms with the possibility of parole after 22 years. The punishment followed convictions on the most serious counts presented publicly by prosecutors. The case was heard in Los Angeles County, although the district attorney’s office identified both defendants as Vallejo residents at the time of sentencing. The court file number listed by prosecutors was 25AVCF00536. The sentence did not undo the years between Pearlene’s death and the jury’s verdict, but it marked the first full public accounting of the case after trial.

The public record leaves several details unresolved. Prosecutors did not release a full trial transcript, a detailed medical summary or statements from Pearlene’s relatives. They also did not say whether the sisters who witnessed the abuse testified in open court. What the sentencing record makes clear is that jurors accepted the prosecution’s central claim: Pearlene died after the adults responsible for her care punished her with forced exercise and beatings. By the end of the hearing, the case had moved from allegation to conviction and sentence.

Elias and Gibbs remained sentenced to 22 years to life as of April 29. The next milestones would come through any post-trial motions, appeals or parole proceedings years from now.

Author note: Last updated April 29, 2026.