Jury rejects insanity plea of mother who drowned 2-month-old daughter
A Santa Ana mother was sane when she drowned her 2-month-old daughter in a bathtub, a jury concluded Monday.
Just weeks after convicting Lucero Carrera, 30, of murder and causing such great harm that her daughter died, the jury came back Monday and confirmed Carrera’s sanity -- a finding required because Carrera had pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.
In June 2012, Carrera was living with her mother and her baby, Elizabeth Guttierez, in a trailer in Santa Ana.
When Carrera’s mother was out shopping, Carrera swallowed “a large quantity” of pills to try to kill herself and then drowned her daughter, Orange County prosecutors said.
When Carrera’s mother came home, she found the infant’s body.
Carrera faces 25 years to life in prison when she’s sentenced March 27.
For breaking California news, follow @JosephSerna.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
