Photo: Frederic J. BROWN / EFE
By: EFE
Friday, November 1
Jury finds Hispanic mother who threw baby from fourth floor in California in 2011 mentally trained
The Mexican mother who threw her 7-month-old son from the fourth floor of a hospital parking building in California was mentally fit at the time of the incident a decade ago, determined this Monday a jury.
Sonia Hermosillo, from 41 years, she faced a trial in recent weeks in Orange County, California, to determine if she was mentally capable at the time of the baby’s death on 22 of August 1200.
The jury decided this Monday that she was mentally capable , as reported by the Orange County Register newspaper.
The trial is part of the process against the Mexican immigrant, who was found guilty on August 4 of a serious crime of murder and a felony of assault that caused the death of a child. However, it was yet to be determined whether she was mentally capable at the time of the incident.
Hermosillo had pleaded not guilty. The defense alleged that the woman “ suffered from delusions and hallucinations at the time of the child’s death that amounted to a total break with reality
The 22 August 2011, Hermosillo took her son, Noé, to the Orange County Children’s Hospital and parked his car on the fourth floor of the hospital parking building.
The baby had medical conditions that required regular hospital treatment, but the infant did not have an appointment scheduled that day.
The minor had a congenital problem that forced him to wear a medical helmet to try to correct the problem . Hermosillo removed his helmet and threw it from the fourth floor, the Orange County Attorney’s Office argued.
A witness who saw the baby fall through the air called 911 and the police came to the scene finding the boy still alive . Meanwhile, the woman entered the hospital, validated her parking lot and left without reporting the incident.
Hermosillo’s husband, Noé Medina, had called the police to report that his wife and son were missing. The man told authorities that his wife had recently been hospitalized for depression and that she was not allowed to be alone with the baby.
The infant died two days after the incident . The woman was arrested while driving through a nearby neighborhood and has since been held without bail.
The trial faced numerous delays as Hermosillo received mental health treatment, while experts determined if she was mentally capable of being judged.
Although the prosecutor Mena Guirguis, who handled the case, admitted that Hermosillo “ had a severe, very severe depression ”, argued that this “is not legal insanity,” adding that the woman waited for her husband to be in the shower to take the child and removed his helmet when throwing him away.
Following today’s decision, Hermosillo will be sentenced next 29 October. The Hispanic woman can face up to 25 years in prison.
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