BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KGET) — The trial of Maya Hernandez, whose 1-year-old son died after she left him for hours in a car in June while she got a lip filler injection, resumes Tuesday morning.
17 News is live blogging the proceedings, which are expected to start around 9 a.m.
On Monday, jurors heard opening statements from prosecutor Stephanie Taconi and Assistant Public Defender Teryl Wakeman.
Taconi is seeking a murder conviction.
She told the jury Hernandez, 20, was more concerned about her looks than being a responsible parent, intentionally leaving her two young children in the car instead of bringing them inside the medical spa — where she’d been told they were allowed.
Wakeman said his client made a terrible mistake. She never intended to harm her children, he said, and believed her car’s AC would keep running while she was gone.
Investigators discovered the vehicle model she drove shuts off after an hour if no action is taken.
Wakeman conceded charges of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment, but said when all the evidence is presented he’ll be asking jurors to acquit Hernandez of the murder charge.
Also Monday, several police officers who responded to the scene June 29 at South Real Road testified, including one who described Hall Ambulance personnel performing chest compressions on 1-year-old Amillio Gutierrez. The toddler was rushed to a hospital, where his temperature measured 107 degrees.
He was pronounced dead 40 minutes later.
Another child, Mateo, 2, was found lethargic and drenched in sweat but survived.