BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (KERO) — The mother accused of leaving her two young sons in a car for more than two hours, leading to the death of her 1-year-old, took the witness stand Monday, tearfully recounting her version of events during the final day of testimony in her trial.
Maya Hernandez is charged in connection with the June 29 death of her son, Emilio Gutierrez, who prosecutors say died of hyperthermia after being left inside a vehicle while Hernandez attended a cosmetic appointment in Bakersfield. Her older son, Mateo, survived.
Testifying for several hours, Hernandez described packing her sons into her car that morning and driving from Visalia to Bakersfield. She said before leaving, she and the children ate breakfast, including fruit cups and bananas.
Under questioning from her attorney, Assistant Public Defender Teryl Wakeman, Hernandez spoke about her childhood, her living situation and her role as a single parent. She testified that the boys’ father was incarcerated at the time for an alleged domestic violence incident.
Hernandez told jurors she works as a certified nursing assistant in Visalia and was the primary provider for her family. Wakeman displayed family photographs during her testimony, emphasizing her efforts to care for and support her children.
According to testimony, both boys were full-term births without medical complications. Hernandez said Mateo breastfed for seven to eight months and Emilio for about four months, before she returned to work.
Jurors also heard a recording of Hernandez’s 911 call from the day of the incident, in which she can be heard speaking frantically with dispatchers and attempting CPR on Emilio.
During cross-examination, Deputy District Attorney Stephanie Taconi questioned Hernandez about text messages indicating she was allowed to bring her children inside the business for her appointment.
Taconi also raised other risks Hernandez could have considered, such as the possibility of the car being stolen with the keys inside or one of the children choking while unattended. Hernandez responded that she did not think of those scenarios at the time.
“You didn’t think of any of those things,” Taconi said.
Hernandez testified she believed the boys would be safe inside the vehicle and did not suspect the car could shut off while parked. She told jurors it was not until after the incident that she began to fully understand the consequences of her decisions.
Closing arguments in the case are scheduled to begin Tuesday morning.
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