Maya Hernandez, the mother whose baby boy died after she left her two young sons in a hot car, has received her sentence.
Hernandez, 20, was sentenced on Thursday, March 5, after pleading no contest to involuntary manslaughter in the death of her 1-year-old son, Amillio Gutierrez, as part of the plea deal to drop a first-degree murder charge in February.
According to court documents examined by PEOPLE, she was sentenced to a total of 15 years in prison.
Amillio died in the hospital after Hernendez left him and his 2-year-old brother strapped in their car seats as she went to get lip filler injections at a spa in Bakersfield, Calif., on June 29, 2025, according to an affidavit previously reported by KERO-TV.
Amillio was found unresponsive when Hernandez returned. He was hospitalized with a body temperature of 107 degrees, while his 2-year-old brother, who survived, had a body temperature of 99 degrees, ABC7 Eyewitness News reported at the time.
According to earlier court documents obtained by local media outlet 23 ABC News, the children were left in the hot car for roughly two hours. Hernandez’s treatment lasted approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
The air conditioning in the 2022 Toyota Corolla hybrid car was set to 60 degrees.
Hernandez told the police that she had left the air conditioning running. The vehicle, however, had an automatic shut-off feature that turned the engine off after one hour, leaving her children in the hot car for at least an hour without any relief.
KBAK reported that it was approximately 100 degrees that day.
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Amillio’s father, Rosendo Gutierrez, learned about his son’s death while in jail on unrelated charges. He addressed the court’s decision while speaking to KBAK.
“I think I let them down ‘cause I wasn’t there to save them,” Rosendo, who is now out of jail, said. “I just don’t think 15 years is enough. From experiencing going to jail, I know there’s a lot of programs that could get her out. This should have never happened… it just kills me.”
Hernandez has served more than 280 days in custody during the case, Judge Charles Brehmer noted on Thursday, per KFSN.
Amillio’s grandmother, Katie Martinez, spoke at the sentencing.
“15 years doesn’t seem like enough,” she said during an emotional statement. “We will have a lifetime without Amillio. We’ll never attend graduation, birthday parties or even have him sitting at the kitchen table watching him eat a simple meal.”
