Pearlene Valavala (YouTube/tauhilelei via Facebook/Seiafi Liu).
A California couple tortured their 16-year-old daughter “for sending inappropriate text messages” to teenage boys — forcing her to perform “strenuous exercises in the hot sun” and then beating her with a wooden plank and belt for hours until she died, prosecutors say.
Oriana Elias, 38, and Vincent Gibbs, 39, were sentenced to 22 years to life in prison last week for the August 2021 slaying of their daughter Pearlene Valavala, according to a press release sent out by the Los Angeles County District Attorney”s Office and online court records.
Prosecutors say the couple was convicted by a jury of second-degree murder, torture, child abuse, causing great bodily injury, and dissuading a witness from reporting a crime. Gibbs was also found guilty of using a weapon in the commission of a crime.
“This sentence reflects an unthinkable betrayal by parents who are meant to protect their children from harm,” said Los Angeles County DA Nathan J. Hochman in a statement.
According to prosecutors, Elias and Gibbs “became upset” with Pearlene on Aug. 15, 2021, after finding texts that she was sending to “teenage boys.”
The couple then “punished the victim by having her perform strenuous exercises in the hot sun and then beating her with a wooden plank and a belt for several hours,” according to the DA’s press release.
“The abuse was witnessed by the victim’s sisters,” prosecutors said. “At some point, the victim collapsed and died in a makeshift bathroom of a trailer that the family had been living in. The trailer did not have running water or electricity.”
Elias and Gibbs called 911 and told Pearlene’s sisters “to lie and not tell the police or paramedics what they had done” to the teen, per the DA’s office.
Online court records viewed by Law&Crime show that the couple pleaded not guilty after being arrested and arraigned in April 2025. “[Elias and Gibbs] did unlawfully and with the intent to cause cruel and extreme pain and suffering for the purpose of revenge, extortion, persuasion and for a sadistic purpose, inflict great bodily injury [to Pearlene],” the criminal complaint, which was obtained by Law&Crime, says.
Elias and Gibbs were both put on trial in January, with the proceedings lasting until March 17, when the guilty verdicts came down.
“Pearlene was denied the chance to grow up and become who she was meant to be,” Hochman said. “There is no punishment that can restore the loss of life.”
