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A 20-year-old California mom was found guilty Wednesday in the death of her 1-year-old son, after reportedly leaving him in a sweltering car to receive lip and butt injections last June.
Maya Hernandez took a plea deal in the child endangerment case, ultimately dropping her first-degree murder charge in exchange for involuntary manslaughter.
On June 29, Bakersfield officers arrested and charged Hernandez after finding two young children left unattended in a vehicle for over two hours, according to a police report posted on a GoFundMe page. Authorities said the mother left the children unattended to undergo a cosmetic procedure inside a nearby medical spa.
While her youngest was pronounced dead, her two-year-old boy remained in stable condition and was placed in protective custody, police said.
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Maya Hernandez was charged with child cruelty and child endangerment counts after leaving her children in a hot car. (KBFX)
Officers noted that temperatures in Bakersfield at the time ranged from 99 to 101 degrees, suggesting that the inside of the vehicle could have quickly reached deadly levels.
According to the GoFundMe page organized by the father’s sister, the deceased child was identified as Amillio Guierrez. The aunt further noted that the father was incarcerated at the time of the incident, indicating that the surviving child was left without either parent during the tragedy.
Hernandez was originally charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, child cruelty and child endangerment counts, Court TV reported.
During the trial in December, prosecutor Stephanie Taconi slammed Hernandez for choosing her “looks” above her children.
“Putting her vanity, her looks, her desire to feel beautiful above her children was wrong,” Taconi said. “Not only was it wrong, but it was criminal.”
The defense argued that Hernandez’s actions were not callously negligent, emphasizing that she had left the engine running specifically to keep the air conditioning on. However, Hernandez, who drove a Toyota Corolla Hybrid, was reportedly unaware of a safety feature designed to automatically shut off the engine after one hour.
The defense added that the mother left her children in their car seats with cookies and a bottle of milk each. She also gave her older son her phone so he could watch videos.
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Maya Hernandez holds her two young sons in an undated photo. (Katie Martinez/KBFX)
Prosecutors further challenged the defense, characterizing Hernandez’s actions as a deliberate series of choices. Despite being told by medical spa staff that the children were welcome inside, she reportedly turned down the accommodation. In addition, prosecutors said Hernandez declined to reach out to relatives for assistance because she “didn’t want to irritate” her sister.
Hernandez “chose to leave them in the car. She chose a break. She chose time to herself. She chose time to socialize with other adults,” Taconi said. “And again, that choice cost Amillio his life.”
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Maya Hernandez reportedly left her two sons unattended in a hot car last June to undergo cosmetic procedures. (KBFX)
Upon returning to her vehicle following the appointment, Hernandez reportedly noticed that Amillio appeared “off,” according to Law & Crime.
Witnesses reported that Hernandez carried her “limp” and “purple” 1-year-old into the medical spa, while another witness stated that the 2-year-old boy “looked like he was going to have a stroke,” the outlet said.
Amillio was then rushed to the hospital, where he was found “pale with blue lips, feet and hands, unconscious and with no pulse,” staff reportedly said, adding that the child was found to have a dangerously high temperature of 107.2 degrees.
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Despite lifesaving measures, Amillio was pronounced dead.
Hernandez will spend a maximum of 15 years in prison. Her sentencing is scheduled for March 5.