The Region - News from Feb. 15, 1987

Baby Jesse, the infant who received national attention last summer when officials at Loma Linda University Medical Center refused to perform a heart transplant unless his unwed parents agreed to relinquish custody, has been legally returned to the couple by a Superior Court judge. Parents Jesse Sepulveda, 26, and Deana Brinkley, 18, agreed to transfer custody of their son to his paternal grandparents when hospital officials said they would not otherwise operate. Baby Jesse was born May 25 with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, an underdevelopment of the left side of his heart.