PORTERVILLE, Calif. -- A California family is mourning the death of a 1-year-old boy who police say was left in a hot car for hours by his mother while she attended a cosmetic appointment.
Bakersfield police say that 20-year-old Maya Hernandez left her two young sons, 1-year-old Amillio Gutierrez and his 2-year-old brother, strapped in their car seats outside a med spa on June 29.
The 2-year-old survived, but Amillio died after being hospitalized with a body temperature of 107 degrees.
The boys' grandmother, Katie Martinez, is devastated by the loss and the circumstances surrounding it.
"They were strapped in their car seats. They couldn't even get up to save themselves," Martinez said. "She literally locked them in their car seats and shut their doors."
Martinez said she has repeatedly sat in her own car with the windows up and engine off to try to understand what her grandsons endured.
"If you just take 20 minutes out of your day and go in your car and feel how it feels, I think that's the only thing that will teach you how to know what a kid feels," she said.
According to arrest documents, Hernandez told police she left the car running with the air conditioning on.
However, investigators found the vehicle was warm when they arrived and later learned it had an automatic shut-off feature that turns the engine off after one hour.
Authorities estimate the children were left without air conditioning for at least 90 minutes.
A nurse at the spa told police that Hernandez had asked in advance if she could bring her children to the procedure, but did not mention having them with her when she arrived. The appointment reportedly lasted only 15 to 20 minutes.
Martinez said this was out of character for Hernandez.
"She wasn't like that. She was a really loving mom," Martinez said. "Those boys loved her. They really loved her and they relied on her."
Hernandez has been arraigned on charges of involuntary manslaughter and child cruelty. She is being held on more than $1 million bail and is scheduled to appear in court Friday for a pre-preliminary hearing.
The boys' father, Martinez's son, who is currently incarcerated on unrelated charges, learned of the tragedy from a jail chaplain the day following his death.
A vigil was held Saturday at a local park in memory of Amillio.
