California mom left boy, 1, to die in hot car to get lip filler: prosecutors

A California mom traded her 1-year-old son’s life for “vanity” when she left him in a stifling 116-degree car to get lip injections, prosecutors charged Tuesday.

Maya Hernandez allegedly left little Amillio Gutierrez and her other 2-year-old son in her car in a parking lot while she hopped inside a Bakersfield, Calif., med spa for 2 1/2 hours to shoot the breeze and plump up her lips on June 29.

The 20-year-old mother “chose vanity,” prosecutor Stephanie Taconi told jurors Monday during opening statements.

“She chose her appearance over her sons,” Taconi said.

“That is why Amillio is not here,” the prosecutor continued, “so she could work on her looks.”

Mercury soared to 101 degrees that day — and by the time Hernandez returned around 4:33 p.m., the car likely reached internal temps of as high as 116 degrees, Taconi said, citing a police recreation of the conditions that day.

Hernandez dipped out of the spa not to “check on her children. She was going to her car to get her phone to pay for her procedure,” Taconi said, according to a report by 23 ABC.

The lip injection procedure only took 15 to 20 minutes, but Hernandez had stayed inside for over two hours chatting about her Fourth of July plans while her kids were trapped in the inferno.

Employees, however, told her should could let the boys stay in the waiting room while she was seen, and a friend even offered to watch them for her, Taconi said.

“There are no accidents in this case. This isn’t a case of a forgotten child whose mom was in a hurry. These were intentional actions, done willfully by the defendant,” Taconi said.

When Hernandez — who is now facing second-degree murder charges — opened the car, she noticed Amillio was “off” and so she brought the boy — who was “limp” and “purple” — into the spa while a second person brought her 2-year-old inside for her, according to a report by Law & Crime.

A nurse with the spa said the older boy, named Mateo, “looked like he was going to have a stroke,” Taconi said.

Once Amillio got to a hospital, he had a temperature of 107.2 degrees and he was “pale with blue lips, feet and hands, unconscious and with no pulse,” Taconi said.

Mateo survived and had an internal temp of 99 degrees, Court TV reported.

Hernandez’s lawyer Assistant Public Defender Teryl Wakeman told the jury during opening statements she made “a terrible, awful mistake” — but shouldn’t be convicted of murder.

In fact, she left the car, a Toyota Corolla, running with the air conditioner on at a cool 60 degrees. She also left her sons with snacks and milk and let one hold onto her phone to watch videos, the lawyer said.

“Ms. Hernandez thought that the car would stay running, that the air conditioner would, likewise, remain on,” Wakeman said.

The defense attorney said Hernandez was conceding to the charges of manslaughter and child cruelty but wouldn’t admit to the second-degree murder charge.

Toyota Corollas turn off after an hour of inactivity, KGET reported.