Mom Gets 15 Years After 1-year-old Son Dies in Hot Car While Getting A Cosmetic Lip Procedure

Hinzugefügt: 2026-05-22

[00:00:01]In a local high [music] profile case, Maya Hernandez, the woman who left her children in a hot car last June that resulted in the death of a 1-year-old, was sentenced this morning to 15 years in prison. This was part of a plea deal.

[00:00:16]The 1-year-old who died was Emilio Gutierrez. Now, following the hearing this morning, we spoke with Rosendo Gutierrez, Emilio's father, who made his first appearance in the court gallery after being released from jail. He said he doesn't believe the punishment matched the crime. I I just don't think 15 years is enough, you know? Um from experiencing from going to jail, I know there's a lot of programs that could get her out.

[00:00:42]Just you know, and then them saying that, you know, like things happen, this should have never happened, you know? Um it just kills me like Officials say Hernandez has already served over 280 days of her sentence throughout the trial process.

[00:01:02]We've nearly reached a resolution in the death of Emilio Gutierrez, the 1-year-old who died after being left in a hot car last year. I'm Sam Wheeler, your neighborhood reporter. The court announcing Wednesday they'd reached a plea agreement in the case of Maya Hernandez. Hernandez slated to serve 15 years in prison. In a hearing that was slated for sentencing, lawyers for Hernandez and the Kern County District Attorney's Office entered into settlement negotiations. According to Kern County Superior Court Judge Charles Bremer, the prosecution will drop the first-degree murder charge in exchange for Hernandez pleading no contest to the involuntary manslaughter allegation and enhancements child cruelty charges.

[00:01:34]Hernandez was arrested after leaving her two children in a car while she went into a medical spa in Bakersfield.

[00:01:39]Though she left the car on before heading in, it turned off with her two children inside of it, ultimately leading to her 1-year-old's death.

[00:01:47]The plea agreement will also add two strikes to Hernandez's record with Bremer warning her that if she receives another, it could carry a 25-year-to-life penalty. The Kern County Chief Deputy District Attorney, Eric Smith, said while the office wanted to retry the case on the grounds of first-degree murder, looking into it as a whole, the jury's initial decision played a key factor behind the decision to settle. We also took put great weight into what the jurors did provide in this case. Ultimately, it was a mistrial for count one, the murder count. We took into account that 12 members of our jury heard all of the evidence, and ultimately it was split towards not guilty. So, we had to take that into account as to their result, and so based on that we decided to enter into settlement negotiations, and uh and that's what she pled to today.

[00:02:32]Following the hearing, we spoke with Michaela Kirkland, Hernandez's older sister, who said it was a decision she was expecting. I think mentally I always thought this is was what what was going to happen. So, I think I thought 15 years, and yeah, I I've always thought this. I didn't really understand the first-degree charge. I thought that was a little um excessive given the amount of intent she didn't have. She didn't have any intent for the kids to get hurt. Obviously, she did a neglectful thing, and it led to my nephew's death, but I don't believe she had any intent on that happening. Hernandez will remain in custody at this time. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 5th at Kern County Superior Court. I'm Sam Hoyle, your neighborhood reporter.

[00:03:17]I want to try to put this out there as early as possible because we're getting ready to come into some hot days. Well, guess what? Out here in Texas, and maybe even in Oklahoma, we're already starting to get some 90-plus degree weather. We were just under 100 here a couple weeks, this week and last week.

[00:03:34]It's starting to get warm out there.

[00:03:36]I'm begging you guys, do not leave your children in any cars for any reason.

[00:03:44]Well, I thought I left the car running.

[00:03:46]Don't make an excuse.

[00:03:49]Don't make an excuse for doing something dumb. Don't leave your kids in the car.

[00:03:52]It's just not smart and we need to start preaching that message like right now because we're already losing kids and and I just have a feeling that people are going to continue to keep doing this dumb stuff. So, I'm getting this article from bakersfieldnow.com.

[00:04:07]So, shout out to them. Give you guys a fair warning about my content if you are offended. If your discretion is advised, that's your disclaimer so I can keep this thing rocking.

[00:04:17]So, Maya Hernandez is this woman a Visalia mother convicted of child abuse.

[00:04:23]She's convicted.

[00:04:25]After leaving her two sons in a hot car which ended up killing one of them.

[00:04:32]And she was sentenced to 15 years to life in prison.

[00:04:35]Now, do y'all think that was an accident? It was unintentional. I forgot. I left my kids in the car.

[00:04:43]Y'all not going to believe why she left these kids in the car and it was intentional.

[00:04:48]It was quite intentional.

[00:04:53]In the courtroom, the children's paternal grandmother Katie Martinez made a statement. 15 years doesn't look like enough. Our city wept for our Emilio.

[00:05:04]So, that was the boy's name. I didn't have a picture. If I do get a picture, if you have a picture related to the story, you can email it to the AFC Matters at gmail.com. I'll post it. But, I don't have it right now. But, last month Hernandez pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter.

[00:05:18]The The murder charge was dismissed. So, maybe they couldn't get murder because that would have to prove intent. That would have been really hard to prove intent even though your actions were hella negligent. Yes, Incognito, you got it right. You sure right.

[00:05:35]So, they got her for involuntary manslaughter instead of the murder charge which is smarter under the law.

[00:05:41]So, in December, a jury was deadlocked on a second-degree murder charge leading to a mistrial on the on that charge and involuntary manslaughter.

[00:05:52]She was found guilty on two counts of child endangerment for her children, Emilio and Mateo.

[00:06:00]Last June, Hernandez drove to drove from Visalia to Bakersfield for a cosmetic procedure leaving her 1-year-old son Emilio and 2-year-old son Mateo in the car with snacks, cartoons playing on her phone, and the air conditioning on, allegedly.

[00:06:25]During the trial, a Bakersfield Police Department investigation found that the car's air conditioning shut off about an hour after.

[00:06:39]For some reason, the AC turned off on the car, which makes you wonder, did it ever work? I don't know.

[00:06:47]Leaving the children in temperatures over 100°.

[00:06:51]Hernandez was inside the spa while she's trying to get a cosmetic procedure.

[00:06:58]You said fillers? Who knows, man.

[00:07:03]She was inside the spa for more than 2 and 1/2 hours and didn't check on her kids. You can't be that level of dumb.

[00:07:17]Both children were lethargic when found, with Emilio showing no signs of life at the hospital. He passed away. He died.

[00:07:25]The father of the two boys, Rosendo Gutierrez, spoke out following the sentence. He was incarcerated at the time of the incident on unrelated charges.

[00:07:40]He was incarcerated.

[00:07:42]When date thugs, oh my god, man.

[00:07:48]He said, "This is my first my first time coming." He said, [snorts] he recounted the moments of being told by authorities about the death of his child and the hospitalization of his other child. "I think I let them down because I wasn't there to save them." He said with tears.

[00:08:04]No [ __ ] Sherlock. You think?

[00:08:09]You think you could have been a better father and not being in prison?

[00:08:15]But what do I know? Fair use is 17 USC 107 fair use.

[00:08:20]Let's take a look. I only got two news videos, so here we go.

[00:08:22]Turning now to your [music] 17 Court Watch, Maya Hernandez, the mother charged in the hot car death of her son, was sentenced today to 15 years in prison. 17's Connor Dorr, who has been following this case since the beginning, joins us in studio with more. Connor?

[00:08:40]Tammy, last June Hernandez left 1-year-old Emilio Gutierrez in a hot car for hours while she got a cosmetic procedure in South Bakersfield. The temperature that day hit 101°.

[00:08:52]And Emilio died from the heat. His body temperature was over 107°.

[00:08:57]Hernandez pleaded no contest last month to involuntary manslaughter in exchange for a lesser sentence. That's after her murder trial ended in a hung jury when the jury couldn't decide between murder or the lesser charge manslaughter. Hernandez was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Rosendo Gutierrez, Emilio's father, shared his tearful remarks after her sentencing.

[00:09:22]Those were my boys, you know.

[00:09:24]I I really loved them.

[00:09:26]I did a lot for them. I changed my life.

[00:09:28]You know?

[00:09:30]>> [snorts] >> I put my life in jeopardy just to change my life, just to be in their life, to be the best father that they could have, you know?

[00:09:37]Gutierrez says he was in jail for domestic violence incident on Hernandez, but denied all allegations. On that scalding hot June day, Hernandez shut the door of her car, ultimately shutting the door on her 1-year-old son's life.

[00:09:52]Hernandez told investigators that she left the AC on in her car, what she testified to not knowing is that her car's model shuts off after an hour of inactivity.

[00:10:02]What?

[00:10:04]I never heard of nothing like that.

[00:10:07]I've heard of cars being designed to stop, literally turn the engine off at stoplights and stuff. Have y'all heard of that? I've heard of it, and I actually think I heard a car start back up as it was driving. I was like, "Wow, that is crazy." The fact that was a real thing that the government really pushed. That was a real thing.

[00:10:29]Here's what I'm wondering before I let the video finish.

[00:10:33]Can y'all really believe any of her words?

[00:10:39]Cuz she's saying that that man committed domestic violence against her.

[00:10:47]But, she was also not truthful about with her kids being left in the car.

[00:11:05]So, if I think that she could be misleading about that, I'm not so sure. You know, it makes me wonder if maybe she actually got the dad locked up just out of spite cuz she was mad at him. Maybe he cheated on her.

[00:11:20]It's like, who knows? Like, the the lengths that sometime people will go.

[00:11:24]Not everybody that claims domestic violence is a domestic violence, uh you know, person that's suffered it.

[00:11:33]Just makes me wonder if she's lying and I just something about this just don't seem right. I think she might have been lying. So, I think that if she was lying about the situation with the kids, she might have very well been lying about the situation with getting that man locked up for domestic violence. Just thought I'd throw that out there. I mean, you know, he don't necessarily look like a person that maybe wouldn't whoop somebody's ass or a woman, but I digress.

[00:11:57]She was in the medical spa for over 2 hours. I will have a full report on this story tonight at 5:00. In studio, Connor Doran, 17 News.

[00:12:07]We begin tonight with your 17 Court [music] Watch. Trial continued today for the Visalia woman charged with murder in the hot car death of her toddler. Police reports say 20-year-old Mayra Hernandez was getting lip fillers at a cosmetic spa in Bakersfield as her 1-year-old boy succumbed to the summer heat. Hernandez took the witness stand today in her own defense. 17's Connor Doran has been following this case from the onset and is outside the Kern County Courthouse with the latest.

[00:12:37]>> [music] >> Connor, good evening.

[00:12:44]Today was a very emotional day in court.

[00:12:47]Under friendly defensive questioning, Mayra Hernandez said that she grew up in an abusive household and had a child in high school with an abusive spouse. She lived She rented a room for a while, then after that she was homeless for a year, sometimes sleeping in her car.

[00:13:07]And then, it wasn't until she got her certified nursing assistant degree did she Was she able to afford an apartment for her and her children?

[00:13:17]Photos were shown of 20-year-old Hernandez with her two children. Photos of her holding her oldest son during her high school graduation. Photos on Christmas with the two boys, birthdays, and Mother's Day. Each photo, Hernandez cried harder and harder. She said on June 29th, the day she left her one and two-year-old boys in the hot car while she was in the waiting room getting her procedure done, she did not go out and check on them. She was in the spa for over 2 and 1/2 hours. She repeated over and over to the defense attorney and prosecutor she thought the boys would be okay because she left the air conditioning on in the car. During a 911 call, the dispatcher walked her through CPR. You could hear Hernandez counting the compressions on the other line. When paramedics arrived, law enforcement did shortly after and kept Hernandez away from baby Emilio. She said she felt hopeless. A major piece of evidence presented in the trial was Hernandez's interview with detectives. The detectives asked her if she knew leaving her kids in the hot car was dangerous before arriving at the medical spa and she said yes. Her defense is that she did not know the air conditioning would turn off by itself after an hour due to the model car she has. After closing arguments, the jury then decides to convict Hernandez of murder or not.

[00:14:37]Closing arguments begin tomorrow morning. Now, we are able to live stream those arguments. So, if you would like to tune in, go to kget.com.

[00:14:46]Outside Kern County Courthouse, Connor Dorr, 17 News. Look, guys, I'm not no car official. I've had a handful of cars that I've owned over the years.

[00:14:56]Let me say this.

[00:14:59]I ain't going to front you. I did not know that they have a built-in feature to turn air conditioning off after an hour.

[00:15:08]Who, what, when, where, and why the hell would they do that? Why would you build that into a car?

[00:15:15]Is does does it does it turn off after an hour if you're driving or if you're only idle and sitting there? I don't get why like what does that help if you got the car running anyway? Why not just go in here and let the AC run, too? Why would it turn off? That just I don't know.

[00:15:32]You're trying to uh extend the longevity of the compressor?

[00:15:39]But you're wearing out the engine. I mean, they both going to go out anyway.

[00:15:42]You might as well just That's just not I just think that's a dumb feature to have. I've never heard of nothing like that.

[00:15:53]But again, you can't leave your kids. She didn't leave her kids for 5 minutes. She didn't leave her kids for 2 minutes. She didn't leave her kids for 10 minutes.

[00:16:05]You're talking about 2 and 1/2 hours.

[00:16:09]There is no excuse for that. If they give her 15 years, guess what, ma'am?

[00:16:16]You've earned all 15 years. Do the time.

[00:16:20]Your kid is gone. One other is suffering. Who knows if that baby even has brain damage. So, to those kids, to one of them that passed, RIP. Keep the other one in your prayers. So, I think that's about as fair of a sentence as you can get. If y'all feel any different, let me know. What type of cars do y'all got? Y'all got them cars that turn off at every stoplight and turn the AC off after every hour? What kind What What What other kind of stupid stuff do they have going on out here?

[00:16:52]It's beyond me. Let me know what you think. AMC podcast, we'll see y'all later. All right. Peace.

[00:17:07]>> [bell]