Mother whose one-year-old son died after being left in boiling hot car jailed

11 Mar 2026 • 12:08 AM MYT
The Independent
The Independent

The world’s most free-thinking newspaper

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  • A Californian mother, Maya Hernandez, has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after her one-year-old son died from being left in a hot car.
  • Hernandez, 20, pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter following the death of Amillio Gutierrez on June 29, when temperatures in Bakersfield soared to 101 degrees Fahrenheit.
  • She left Amillio and his two-year-old brother in her car for approximately two and a half hours while she underwent a cosmetic procedure at a medical spa.
  • Hernandez claimed she believed the children were safe as the air conditioning was running, but her hybrid car's engine automatically shut off after an hour, leaving the boys without cooling for at least 90 minutes.
  • Amillio's body temperature reached 107 degrees before he died, whilst his older brother survived and was placed in protective custody; family members expressed that the sentence was insufficient.

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