{"id":91342,"date":"2025-12-12T05:33:22","date_gmt":"2025-12-12T05:33:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/91342\/"},"modified":"2025-12-12T05:33:22","modified_gmt":"2025-12-12T05:33:22","slug":"prosecutors-show-video-of-hernandez-admitting-awareness-of-hot-car-dangers-during-trial","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/91342\/","title":{"rendered":"Prosecutors show video of Hernandez admitting awareness of hot car dangers during trial"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 In a dramatic courtroom revelation, a spa employee testified that Maya Hernandez was undergoing a Liquid Brazilian Butt Lift procedure, not a lip filler, on the day her children were left in a hot car.<\/p>\n

Jurors were shown footage of Hernandez admitting to authorities that she was aware of the dangers of leaving children in a hot car. <\/p>\n

During the interview, Hernandez, a trained certified nursing assistant, broke down in tears, saying, “It’s not like I left them in there just to die.”<\/p>\n

\"{p}Opening<\/p>\n

Opening statements were delivered in Kern County Superior Court on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (KBAK\/KBFX)<\/p>\n

The spa aesthetics injector who worked on Hernandez testified that the procedure itself lasted about 15\u201320 minutes. <\/p>\n

At one point, she even suggested Hernandez wait in her car before the procedure because the spa was backed up. <\/p>\n

Hernandez had not mentioned being in a hurry or that her children were in the car. <\/p>\n

However, text messages revealed Hernandez had asked the aesthetic injector if she could bring her children into the spa. <\/p>\n

The injector agreed, provided they stayed in the waiting area.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors played Hernandez\u2019s second interview with authorities, recorded after her arrest. In it, detectives asked Hernandez a series of questions, including about her background as a former CNA. <\/p>\n

RELATED: Opening statements start in murder trial of mother accused in infant son’s hot car death<\/a><\/p>\n

She said that although she was no longer working as a CNA, she had learned about caring for patients of all ages. <\/p>\n

She then began to cry.<\/p>\n

Detectives also asked Hernandez what she thought would happen if she left her children in a car. <\/p>\n

In the video, she replied, \u201cWhat happened, I guess.\u201d <\/p>\n

She told detectives that she had heard news stories about children being left in cars, but didn\u2019t think it would happen to her. <\/p>\n

She said she left her kids in the car because they were sleeping and added, \u201cIt\u2019s not like I left them in there just to die.\u201d <\/p>\n

\"Pictured<\/p>\n

Pictured are Maya Hernandez and her two sons, Amillio (left) and Mateo (right). (Photo:{ }Katie Martinez)<\/p>\n

Concluding the interview video, the detective testified that Hernandez admitted she understood what could happen if she left the children in the car. <\/p>\n

A detective explained that a recreation test was conducted to estimate vehicle temperature, confirming it shut off after about an hour. <\/p>\n

RELATED: Prosecution presents chilling testimony in Hernandez child endangerment case<\/a><\/p>\n

During the test, temperatures increased by 19.4 degrees in 15 minutes after the AC turned off, meaning the children were exposed to high temperatures for about 1 hour and 8 minutes, with a maximum internal temperature of 116 degrees. <\/p>\n

The coolest car seat with AC on was 80.6 degrees. <\/p>\n

The defense questioned the method, asking if two days later, conditions with only one car seat and no children would reflect reality. <\/p>\n

\"Opening<\/p>\n

Opening statements were delivered in Kern County Superior Court on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (KBAK\/KBFX)<\/p>\n

The detective said yes, citing good practice and favorable results compared to studies. <\/p>\n

The defense also questioned control groups, thermal mass, AC effectiveness when driving or idling, and whether idling mimicked the drive from Visalia to Bakersfield. <\/p>\n

The detective noted the recreation was only done once, but was supported by published studies. <\/p>\n

RELATED: Trial of Maya Hernandez continues as pathologist testifies about child’s tragic death<\/a><\/p>\n

Another officer who testified said Hernandez told him she had left her vehicle around 2 p.m. and saw the children again around 4:30 p.m. when she called 911.<\/p>\n

He described Hernandez’s demeanor as neutral and calm\u2014she was not crying or panicking.<\/p>\n

However, during cross-examination, he admitted he did not include Hernandez’s demeanor in the report. He said he reviewed his body-worn camera before testifying, which is where he got the description of her demeanor.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors also played surveillance video showing Hernandez leaving the medical spa building. <\/p>\n

\"Opening<\/p>\n

Opening statements were delivered in Kern County Superior Court on Monday, Dec. 8, 2025. (KBAK\/KBFX)<\/p>\n

A few minutes later, an employee who testified earlier in the trial stepped out as well. <\/p>\n

Minutes after that, Hernandez ran back into the spa holding Amilio and went straight to the aesthetics injector. <\/p>\n

The employee who had stepped out then entered, holding Mateo. <\/p>\n

The aesthetics injector explained that Hernandez opened the treatment-room door, standing in the doorway, holding her baby, Amilio, and saying, “My baby.” <\/p>\n

RELATED: Docs show mother left car running with AC on before shutting off, killing child<\/a><\/p>\n

The injector stated she knew Hernandez had children, but didn\u2019t know they were with her that day. <\/p>\n

Hernandez was then seen running out of the spa again, holding Amilio. <\/p>\n

A client took hold of Mateo, while another appeared to be calling 911. <\/p>\n

The aesthetics injector was seen tending to Mateo using wet towels on his head and neck because she said he looked like he was going to pass out and had a very fast heartbeat. <\/p>\n

The trial is set to resume on Monday with one more prosecution witness, followed by closing arguments expected on Tuesday. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 In a dramatic courtroom revelation, a spa employee testified that Maya Hernandez was undergoing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":87059,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":{"0":"post-91342","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bakersfield","8":"tag-bakersfield","9":"tag-bakersfield-headlines","10":"tag-bakersfield-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91342","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91342"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91342\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/87059"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91342"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91342"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91342"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}