Maya Hernandez in court with defense attorney Teryl Wakeman on Dec. 15 (Law&Crime).
A California mother is on trial after allegedly leaving her infant son to die in a sweltering car while she attended a med spa appointment, though the nature of the procedure she was undergoing has come into question.
Maya Hernandez, aged 20, is currently facing a jury trial for murder charges. Prosecutors allege that on June 29, Hernandez left her two young sons, aged 1 and 2, in her vehicle as she went inside a medical spa in Bakersfield, California. Tragically, her 1-year-old son, Amillio, succumbed to the extreme heat inside the car.
In a surprising courtroom revelation on December 11, an aesthetics injector from the spa testified that Hernandez was not there for a lip filler treatment—a procedure typically lasting 15 to 20 minutes. Instead, she was undergoing a liquid Brazilian butt lift, which generally takes a significantly longer time.
According to courtroom reporting by local NBC affiliate KGET, Hernandez took the stand on Monday in her own defense. During her testimony, she stated that she did not think the BBL procedure would take two hours and believed that it would only take 20 minutes.
The injector further revealed that the spa was experiencing delays on the day of Hernandez’s appointment. She advised Hernandez to wait in her car until it was her turn. Importantly, Hernandez did not disclose that her children were in the car or express any urgency to the staff.
During her defense testimony, Hernandez claimed she monitored time using her Apple Watch while inside the spa. According to KGET, prosecutors highlighted that she checked her watch 45 times, implying she was aware of how much time had elapsed. Despite this, she allegedly did not return to check on her children, even as outside temperatures soared to 101 degrees Fahrenheit.
It was previously reported by Law&Crime that Hernandez had been informed through a text message from a spa employee that she was welcome to bring her children inside the facility.
When Hernandez left the spa after her liquid BBL procedure was finished, she told the court that she found Amillio unresponsive in the car and put cold air on him.
KGET reported that while prosecutors showed the court photos of Hernandez and her two boys, followed by pictures from the scene where Amillio died, she cried the whole time.
Hernandez was charged with second-degree murder, manslaughter, and two counts of child cruelty.
