California Mother on Trial After 1-Year-Old Dies in Hot Car During Lip-Filler Appointment

A California woman is standing trial after prosecutors say she left her 1-year-old son to die in a parked car while she went to receive lip-filler injections.

Who: Maya Hernandez, 20, of Bakersfield, Calif., is charged with second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty in connection with the June 29 death of her son, Amillio Gutierrez.

What happened: Authorities allege Hernandez left Amillio and his 2-year-old brother strapped in car seats for roughly two hours while she was at a med spa. When she returned, Amillio was found unresponsive and was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Medical staff recorded his body temperature at 107°F. His 2-year-old brother survived.

Prosecutors' account: Prosecutors say the cosmetic injection procedure itself would have taken about 15–20 minutes, but Hernandez remained in the building for approximately two hours and did not check on the children during that time. Court records cited in local reporting indicate the vehicle's air conditioner had been set to 60°F before she left and that the car’s AC is programmed to shut off automatically after running for more than an hour unless manually restarted.

Communications with the spa: Court documents show Hernandez messaged the spa before the appointment asking whether she could bring her children inside. Spa staff allegedly replied, "Sure if you don't mind them waiting in the waiting room hun," according to local news reports. Authorities say Hernandez later told police she did receive that response but still left the children inside the vehicle.

Legal proceedings and response: Opening statements in Hernandez's trial began on Monday, Dec. 8. Her defense attorney has disputed the second-degree murder charge, while prosecutors argue the facts support the allegations of criminal neglect and homicide.

A GoFundMe set up by Amillio's aunt, Savanah Gutierrez, asks for donations to cover funeral expenses and to "bring our baby boy home and give him a proper funeral," and describes the family's grief at the loss.

Coverage: The case has been reported by Court TV, local Bakersfield stations KGET and KERO-TV, and was originally covered online by People. The matter remains before the court; the charges are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.