A La Habra resident accused of tossing her disabled infant off of a parking structure pleaded not guilty this past Wednesday. Her reason: insanity. Sonia Hermosillo, 32, faces the possibility of being in jail up to 25 years if convicted of killing her own 7-month-old son. However, Superior Court Judge Kazuharu Makino maintains that Hermosillo is fit to stand trial.
Orange County prosecuters say that before tossing her son from the parking structure Hermosillo removed a protective helmet that her baby wore for a congenital problem. She then validated her parking at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County and left the scene. She then returned hours later and was apprehended and arrested by authorities.
Deputy District Attorney Scott Simmons has been quoted saying the following, “I think the evidence is clear. It’s going to show that she didn’t want to take care of this baby. She wanted to kill this baby and there are multiple facts … to indicate that’s in fact what she did,” Simmons has said.”
Hermosillo’s attorney disagrees.
“The question isn’t whether somebody was able to plan something in the short term, the question is whether there was a mental illness that took over her free will,” she said Wednesday.
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Hermosillo is being charged with one count of murder, in violation of Penal Code section 187(a), and one count of child abuse causing death, in violation of Penal Code section 273ab(a). Penal Code section 273ab(a) states: “Any person, having the care or custody of a child who is under eight years of age, who assaults the child by means of force that to a reasonable person would be likely to produce great bodily injury, resulting in the child’s death, shall be punished by imprisonment in the state prison for 25 years to life.” What this means is that if a jury finds that Hermosillo assaulted her child in such a way that it was reasonable to believe great bodily injury would occur, and death did in fact occur, then she can be sentenced to 25 years to life in prison for violating Penal Code section 273ab(a). Given that most people would reasonably believe that taking off a baby’s protective helmet and then tossing him off the roof of a parking structure is likely to cause great bodily injury to the child, Hermosillo’s defense attorney has got her work cut out for her.
If you want to see more information about the different crimes involving child abuse or child endangerment, visit our website.