A California mother, driven by vanity, has accepted a plea deal after abandoning her son in a car under the blazing sun while she underwent cosmetic lip enhancement.
Twenty-year-old Maya Hernandez admitted guilt on Wednesday for leaving her two young boys locked in their car seats in June 2025, outside the Always Beautiful Med Spa in Bakersfield.
The temperature outside soared to a staggering 101°F. When paramedics arrived, they found her one-year-old son, Amillio Gutierrez, in distress, foaming at the mouth and having convulsions. Tragically, he passed away within hours.
Fortunately, his two-year-old brother, Mateo, was rescued by spa staff who pulled him from the 2022 Toyota Corolla hybrid, rushed him inside, and quickly cooled him with cold water.
Initially, Hernandez faced serious charges, including second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, and two counts of child endangerment.
In December 2025, the jury convicted her of child abuse, but they were unable to reach a consensus on the murder and manslaughter accusations.
Hernandez later took a plea deal, dropping the murder charge in exchange for involuntary manslaughter.
She will be sentenced to 15 years in prison on March 5 and receive two strikes on her record.
Maya Hernandez’s children: One-year-old Amillio Gutierrez and two-year-old Mateo
Maya knew leaving her children inside was dangerous, but told police she believed she would be in and out of the spa quickly
‘We did a review of: is there anything that we could potentially do differently in a second trial? We also put great weight into what the jurors didn’t provide in this case,’ Kern County chief deputy district attorney Eric Smith said in a statement.
‘Ultimately, it was a mistrial for count one, the murder count. We took into account that 12 members of our jury heard all of the evidence, and ultimately, it was split towards not guilty.
‘So based on that, we decided to enter into settlement negotiations, and that’s what she pled to today.’
Hernandez’s older sister expected the outcome, telling ABC23, ‘I always thought this is what was going to happen.
‘I didn’t really understand the first-degree [murder] charge. I thought that was a little excessive given the amount of intent.
‘She didn’t have any intent for the kids to get hurt. Obviously, she did a neglectful thing, and it led to my nephew’s death, but I don’t believe she had any intent on that happening,’ she told the outlet.
The 20-year-old had left the boys in her car for over two hours, while she got cosmetic injections.
Because of the extreme outside heat, experts said the temperature inside the car could have reached 143F.
Amillio was left in a hot car for more than two hours while his mother, Maya Hernandez, 20, was getting lip fillers at a spa 127ft away
Amillio Gutierrez, one, died after he was rushed inside the ER, pale, with blue lips, blue feet, unconscious, no pulse, and not breathing
Hernandez’s defense argued that her case was a ‘tragic accident,’ and that she left her boys in a running car, with milk and cookies
‘Can I bring my kids in by chance?’ Maya asked in a text to the salon. The reply was: ‘Sure if you don’t mind them waiting in the waiting area hun?’
Maya Hernandez, 20, in court back in December for her child abuse case, as she faced four serious charges
The 2022 Toyota Corolla hybrid where Amillio and his brother were found strapped in their car seats – the vehicle had an automatic shut-off feature that disabled the air conditioning after one hour, according to investigators
Amilio’s body temperature had soared to a deadly 107F, and he was rushed to the hospital but died shortly after.
The toddler’s older brother, Mateo, miraculously survived despite having an internal temperature of 99F.
Police say Hernandez claimed she left the car running with the air conditioning on, but investigators found it had an automatic shut-off and was stifling hot.
Surveillance footage reportedly showed frantic spa workers and bystanders dousing the children with water in a desperate attempt to save them.
A nurse told police Hernandez asked about bringing her kids in before the appointment, and staff offered to keep them in the waiting room.
Despite this, she left them outside.
Prosecutor Stephanie Taconi had argued that the young mom ‘chose vanity’ over her boys, saying ‘there are no accidents here’ only ‘intentional actions.’
The defense called it a ‘terrible, awful mistake,’ claiming Hernandez left her kids with the air conditioning on, along with cookies and milk.
