Beauty appointments don’t usually make national headlines. But 20-year-old Visalia mom Maya Hernandez has pleaded not guilty after she left her two young sons in a hot car for more than two hours while she had a lip filler procedure at a Bakersfield med spa. Her decision ended with the death of her 1-year-old, and her 2-year-old was hospitalized.
According to the Bakersfield Police, the young mom drove her Toyota Corolla hybrid to Always Beautiful Med Spa on June 29. She went in for an appointment mid-afternoon, which is anyway in the hottest part of a 99–101-degree day. Court documents say she left the boys strapped into their car seats and thought they’d be safe because the AC was running. But later, a dealership foreman explained that Corolla hybrids are designed to shut off after about an hour when there’s no interaction with the car.
When Hernandez finally walked out two hours later, she immediately sensed something was wrong. The 1-year-old was seizing and foaming at the mouth. Witnesses gave water to the children, and the mom tried mouth-to-mouth resuscitation before calling authorities. Bakersfield fire and EMS arrived at 4:45 pm. The infant died less than an hour later with a body temperature of 107 degrees. The 2-year-old survived, though and was treated at the hospital. The child has been placed in protective custody.
Prosecutors allege Maya Hernandez left her two children in a hot car while at a medical spa, resulting in the death of 1-year-old Amillio Gutierrez. #CourtTV What do YOU think? ⚖️👇 https://t.co/CXLL9c3P5Y
— Court TV (@CourtTV) December 8, 2025
Court documents state that the med spa had even texted the mom that morning and told her that the children could wait in the reception area. But for some reason, she believed the running air conditioner would be enough.
Both the Bakersfield Police and the shop workers in the area spoke of that afternoon. In the Surveillance footage, we can also see frantic attempts to save the boys with cold water inside the spa. “It’s not gonna happen,” said an employee in the area named Gricelda Anaya. And social platforms lit up with fury aimed at the young mother, as a critic said, “She doesn’t deserve the title of ‘Mother’!” Another writes, “How can this lawyer defend her?” Others said we know very little about her circumstances.
Court files do mention a 2024 Child Protective Services case for emotional abuse, which was marked “unfounded.” Plus, as it turns out, the father of the boys is reportedly behind bars for another incident.
#MayaHernandez #MayaHernandezTrial
🚨 NEW TRIAL‼️
Opening statements began today in the case against Maya Hernandez.
She is accused of leaving her 2 young sons in a hot car in up to 116 degrees in California for over 2 hours while she went to get lip injections. Her 1 year… pic.twitter.com/dmQR6peQ3u
— Adriienne F (@imadriienne) December 8, 2025
Anyway, investigators and child safety advocates are saying that heatstroke deaths in cars are preventable. Even with windows open or AC running, the inside of a parked vehicle can reach triple-digit temperatures within minutes. On top of that, children overheat three to five times faster than adults. Kids and Car Safety reports that over 1,000 U.S. children have died in hot cars since 1990, and there are roughly 40 such deaths a year. Twelve have already happened in 2025, and two of them have been in California itself.
The 20-year-old mom’s bail was set at $1,080,000. She is next due in court on July 11.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe has been launched for the 1-year-old’s funeral.
