{"id":97663,"date":"2025-12-17T02:46:13","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T02:46:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/97663\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T02:46:13","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T02:46:13","slug":"closing-arguments-delivered-in-trial-of-maya-hernandez","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/97663\/","title":{"rendered":"Closing arguments delivered in trial of Maya Hernandez"},"content":{"rendered":"

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 In a tense day of closing arguments, prosecutors and defense attorneys presented sharply contrasting narratives in the case of Maya Hernandez<\/a>, the Visalia mother charged in the hot-car death of her one-year-old son, Amilio, and the alleged endangerment of his two-year-old brother, Mateo, as she attended a medical spa for a liquid BBL in Bakersfield.<\/p>\n

The incident happened in June of this year.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The Kern County Coroner’s Office confirmed that a 1-year-old Amillio Gutierrez from Visalia died from heat stroke. PHOTO:{ }GoFundMe, KBAK\/KBFX<\/p>\n

RELATED: Prosecution & defense rests in trial of Visalia mother accused of leaving boys in hot car<\/a><\/p>\n

Both closing arguments came to an end Tuesday afternoon, with jurors now facing the central question of whether Hernandez acted with \u201cimplied malice,\u201d the legal threshold required for second-degree murder.<\/p>\n

Prosecution:<\/p>\n

Prosecutor Stephanie Taconi argued that Hernandez made a series of deliberate choices on the day of the incident \u2014 choices they say cost Amilio his life.<\/p>\n

They returned repeatedly to Hernandez\u2019s own words as \u201ca procedure to make her feel more beautiful.\u201d The prosecutor said Hernandez did not prioritize her children. The prosecutor continued by saying Hernandez left her children in the car for more than two hours while she waited inside a spa, socialized with other patrons, and never once checked through a window.<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

In a tense day of closing arguments, prosecutors and defense attorneys presented sharply contrasting narratives in the case of Maya Hernandez, the mother charged in the hot-car death of her one-year-old son, Amilio, and the alleged endangerment of his two-year-old brother, Mateo, as she attended a medical spa for a liquid BBL in Bakersfield. KBAK\/KBFX<\/p>\n

The prosecutor emphasized the elements of second-degree murder, arguing that Hernandez:<\/p>\n

Intentionally committed the act of leaving her children in the vehicleKnew the risk to human lifeActed with conscious disregard for that dangerCaused Amilio\u2019s death as a result<\/p>\n

Taconi walked the jury through medical, witness, and investigative evidence.<\/p>\n

She also identified multiple points where Hernandez could have prevented the tragedy:<\/p>\n

She could have taken the children inside using the stroller found in her trunkShe could have asked others for helpShe could have left the appointment altogether<\/p>\n

Taconi highlighted inconsistencies in Hernandez\u2019s interviews. “The Defendant purposely, willfully, and intentionally left her children in the car. And she did so knowing what would happen,” said Taconi.<\/p>\n

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

\"In<\/p>\n

In a tense day of closing arguments, prosecutors and defense attorneys presented sharply contrasting narratives in the case of Maya Hernandez, the mother charged in the hot-car death of her one-year-old son, Amilio, and the alleged endangerment of his two-year-old brother, Mateo, as she attended a medical spa for a liquid BBL in Bakersfield. KBAK\/KBFX<\/p>\n

Defense:<\/p>\n

The defense urged jurors to separate emotion from fact, arguing that while Hernandez was negligent \u2014 a point they conceded on the manslaughter and child endangerment counts \u2014 she did not possess the mental state necessary for second-degree murder.<\/p>\n

Defense attorney Teryl Wakeman told jurors Hernandez conceded for:<\/p>\n

Involuntary manslaughter (Count 2)Child endangerment (Counts 3 and 4)\"In<\/p>\n

In a tense day of closing arguments, prosecutors and defense attorneys presented sharply contrasting narratives in the case of Maya Hernandez, the mother charged in the hot-car death of her one-year-old son, Amilio, and the alleged endangerment of his two-year-old brother, Mateo, as she attended a medical spa for a liquid BBL in Bakersfield. KBAK\/KBFX<\/p>\n

But they insisted Count 1 \u2014 second-degree murder \u2014 requires proof of implied malice, which they say the prosecution failed to establish.<\/p>\n

The core of the defense argument: Hernandez believed the car\u2019s air-conditioning would remain on. Wakeman said Hernandez acknowledged the heat and left the AC on.<\/p>\n

The defense said, “Her conduct was criminally negligent, but there is no implied malice in this case and this is definitely not second-degree murder.”<\/p>\n

\"In<\/p>\n

In a tense day of closing arguments, prosecutors and defense attorneys presented sharply contrasting narratives in the case of Maya Hernandez, the mother charged in the hot-car death of her one-year-old son, Amilio, and the alleged endangerment of his two-year-old brother, Mateo, as she attended a medical spa for a liquid BBL in Bakersfield. KBAK\/KBFX<\/p>\n

Jurors must now decide whether Hernandez acted with implied malice, a requirement for second-degree murder. Deliberations will continue on Wednesday.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KBAK\/KBFX) \u2014 In a tense day of closing arguments, prosecutors and defense attorneys presented sharply contrasting…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":97664,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[151,153,152],"class_list":{"0":"post-97663","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\/97663","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=97663"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97663\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/97664"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97663"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97663"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97663"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}