A 1-year-old California boy, Amilio Gutierrez, died after being left in a hot car alongside his brother. Police allege that Amilio’s mother, Maya Hernandez, 20, left the children inside the car while she went to a spa for a cosmetic procedure.
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According to ABC7, the incident occurred on June 29. Bakersfield police said that Hernandez arrived at the spa to get a cosmetic procedure, specified as a lip filler by KGET.
Police allege that Hernandez left the two children inside the vehicle for two and a half hours.
After returning to her vehicle, as per KGET, Hernandez was horrified to see Amilio having a seizure, seeing foam coming out of his mouth. Meanwhile, the 2-year-old was rushed inside, where water was poured on him.
As per KERO, the 2-year-old reached a body temperature of 99 degrees. He managed to survive and was taken into child protective services.
However, Amilio, the 1-year-old, reached a temperature of 107 degrees. Then, after being transported to a local hospital, he was pronounced dead.
A Tragedy
Documents obtained by ABC7 reveal that Hernandez told police that she had left the car running. The air conditioning was on, according to her. However, police investigators discovered that the vehicle has an automatic shut-off feature that activates after an hour.
Investigators estimate that the children were left without air conditioning for 90 minutes.
The children’s grandmother, Katie Martinez, revealed some details about how the boys were found.
“They were strapped in their car seats. They couldn’t even get up to save themselves,” Martinez told ABC7. “She literally locked them in their car seats and shut their doors.”
Furthermore, numerous reports detailed that one of the spa workers told Hernandez via a text message that he could leave her children in the spa’s waiting room.
Martinez was shocked after hearing the news, saying that her daughter “wasn’t like that.”
“She was a really loving,” Martineiez said. “Those boys loved her. They really loved her and they relied on her.”
Maya Hernandez was arrested and charged with involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty. She is currently being held on more than a $1 million bail. Her preliminary hearing is scheduled for Friday, July 11.
Two separate GoFundMe campaigns, set up by Martinez and Amilio’s father’s family, are seeking to raise funds to bring Amilio’s body to Porterville for a proper funeral.