California mom whose child died while she was getting lip filler faces 15 years in prison

A Central California mother whose baby died inside her vehicle amid 100-plus-degree heat while she was getting lip filler injections at a nearby spa has been convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

Maya Hernandez, 20, of Visalia is expected to be sentenced to 15 years in prison at a March 5 hearing in Kern County Superior Court in Bakersfield.

Hernandez pleaded no contest to charges that included a pair of enhancements for great bodily harm to a victim younger than 5 and willful harm or injury to a child that resulted in death in the commission of child abuse.

The conviction last week closes a case that dates to December, when Hernandez was found guilty of two counts of child abuse likely to produce great bodily harm or death.

Then, the presiding judge declared a mistrial on additional counts of second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter as the jury did not produce a unanimous decision.

The prosecution and defense teams settled on the no-contest plea in exchange for dropping the murder count.

California

Baby dies after California mom leaves him in car to get lip filler on 101-degree day, police say

A baby died after his mother left him and a sibling, 2, inside a car while she was getting a cosmetic treatment, police say. She’s been charged with involuntary manslaughter.

July 9, 2025

Kern County Dist. Atty. Cynthia Zimmer said her office and prosecution team were “committed in our pursuit of justice and accountability” as prosecutors faced online backlash from people who said the 15-year sentence was not “long enough.”

“Prosecutors sought the second-degree murder charge as we believed the evidence was sufficient to prove Hernandez’s guilt beyond a reasonable doubt,” Zimmer said in a statement. “When the jury was ultimately unable to reach a unanimous verdict on that charge, we carefully evaluated the circumstances and considered all available options in determining an appropriate resolution.”

Neither the district attorney nor public defender’s office responded immediately to a request for comment.

Prosecutors said that at 2 p.m. on June 29, a sweltering summer day in Bakersfield, Hernandez left her 1-year-old and 2-year-old children inside her Toyota Corolla hybrid in a parking lot.

Hernandez told police that she left the car engine on and the air conditioning running in the vehicle.

The car, however, has a feature that automatically turns off the engine after one hour of idling.

Bakersfield police believe the car shut off sometime around 3 p.m. with outside temperatures hovering around 101 degrees.

Police Det. Kyle McNabb, however, contended in police documents that the internal temperature of such a vehicle could have climbed above 140 degrees.

California

6-year-old boy died after father left him in hot car, police say

The child had heat-related injuries after being left inside a vehicle, which had been parked in the Paso Robles Inn parking lot for several hours. He died at a hospital.

May 14, 2025

Hernandez told police she returned at 4:30 p.m. and found her 1-year-old foaming at the mouth in the midst of a seizure, according to the police report.

She dialed 911, and her children were transported to a hospital for treatment.

The 1-year-old died at Adventist Health hospital. When he arrived, he wasn’t breathing, had no pulse and his lips were blue, while his internal body temperature had risen to 107.2 degrees, according to the police report.

The child, Amillio Gutierrez, was pronounced dead by the Kern County coroner’s office.

The older child survived and has recovered.

Times staff writer Clara Harter contributed to this report.