SANTA ANA : Convicted Woman May Be Deported

A woman convicted of attempted murder for dropping her newborn son out a first-floor window was sentenced Wednesday to a program for the mentally retarded, but will probably be deported to El Salvador instead.

Since last month, Deputy Public Defender Marri Derby has unsuccessfully tried to block the deportation of Maria Bonilla, 22, who has an IQ of 61 and is mentally retarded. Derby said that without supervision in El Salvador, Bonilla will be “easy prey” for people trying to take advantage of her. Bonilla has no blood relatives in that country, Derby said.

Bonilla gave birth without assistance in October, then dropped her newborn boy out the window in the rain. The child is healthy and in foster care, but was suffering from hypothermia when found, said Deputy Dist. Atty. David La Bahn.

Officials with the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service say they have no alternative but to deport Bonilla because she has been convicted of a violent felony.

“This (program for the retarded) was going to be her chance at life,” lamented Derby, who said Bonilla was abandoned by her mother and sexually abused by the man who raised her.

Orange County Superior Court Judge David O. Carter convicted Bonilla in May of attempted murder after a non-jury trial in which attorneys submitted evidence, but called no witnesses. The conviction of a serious felony drew the attention of the INS.

Derby said Wednesday that her strategy at the time was to have Bonilla released from custody as soon as possible, but conceded she may have erred. Bonilla might have been convicted of a lesser charge in a jury trial, she said.

“If I had to do it all over again, I would have taken my chances with a jury trial,” Derby said.

Derby recently requested a new trial, but Carter refused that request. Derby was critical of prosecutors who refused to reduce the charge, a move that could help Bonilla remain in the United States. La Bahn said the charge was too serious to reduce.

Carter has asked the INS to help Derby arrange for an El Salvador organization that assists women to meet Bonilla at the airport there.

Carter gave Bonilla credit for time served, placed her on probation and sentenced her to two years in the Orange care facility. But he said in all likelihood she will be deported within the next few days.