Mum who left son, 1, to die in hot car while getting lip filler faces 15 years in prison

A mum who left her one-year-old son to die in a hot car while she got cosmetic lip injections has pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter. Maya Hernandez, 20, was told by a prosecutor that she ‘chose vanity’ over the wellbeing of her two young sons when she left them strapped into their car seats in June 2025 outside Always Beautiful Med Spa in Bakersfield, California, as temperatures outside soared to 101°F. Amillio Gutierrez, one, was found foaming at the mouth and died within hours, while his two-year-old brother Mateo was only saved thanks to the quick actions of staff in the spa. (Picture: Court TV)

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Hernandez was initially charged with first-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and two counts of child endangerment. A jury found her guilty of child abuse but could not reach a verdict on the murder and manslaughter charges in December 2025, Daily Mail reports. Hernandez has now taken a plea deal to drop the murder charge in exchange for involuntary manslaughter, and will be sentenced to 15 years in prison on March 5. (Picture: Facebook)

The court heard that Hernandez had asked to bring her children into the appointment with her, and staff offered to let them stay in the waiting room. However, she left them in the car, with the mum claiming she had left it running with the air conditioning turned on. Investigators found that the vehicle had an automatic shut-off system and experts estimated that, due to the extreme heat outside, temperatures in the car could have reached 143°F. (Picture: Facebook)

Amillio’s body temperature was reported to have reached 107°F and he was rushed to hospital but died shortly after. Mateo, whose internal temperature reached 99°F, survived, with surveillance footage said to have shown spa workers and bystanders removing the children from the 2022 Toyota Corolla hybrid, rushing them inside and dousing them with water in a desperate attempt to save them. Kern County chief deputy district attorney Eric Smith spoke about the trial process, saying: ‘We did a review of: is there anything that we could potentially do differently in a second trial?’ (Picture: Sharilyn Neidhardt)

‘Ultimately, it was a mistrial for count one, the murder count. We took into account that 12 members of our jury heard all of the evidence, and ultimately, it was split towards not guilty. So based on that, we decided to enter into settlement negotiations, and that’s what she pled to today.’ Prosecutor Stephanie Taconi said the mum ‘chose vanity’ over her two young children, adding that ‘there are no accidents’, only ‘intentional actions’. (Picture: Facebook)

Hernandez’s defense labelled it a ‘terrible, awful mistake’ with no ill intent, arguing that Hernandez believed the air conditioning was on inside the vehicle, where she had also left her children with cookies and milk. Hernandez’s older sister told ABC23 that she had expected the case to agree on the involuntary manslaughter charge, and didn’t believe that her sibling should have faced a murder charge. Pictured: Amillio. (Picture: Facebook)

She said: ‘I didn’t really understand the first-degree [murder] charge. I thought that was a little excessive given the amount of intent. She didn’t have any intent for the kids to get hurt. Obviously, she did a neglectful thing, and it led to my nephew’s death, but I don’t believe she had any intent on that happening.’ (Picture: Facebook)

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Mum who left son, 1, to die in hot car while getting lip filler faces 15 years in prison

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