A California mother who left her two young sons strapped into car seats inside a parked vehicle while she underwent cosmetic injections has been sentenced to 15 years to life in prison after one of the children died in the extreme heat.

Maya Hernandez, 20, of Visalia, was sentenced Thursday in Kern County after pleading no contest last month to involuntary manslaughter in the death of her 1-year-old son, Amillio Gutierrez.

The tragic incident unfolded on June 29, 2025, when prosecutors say Hernandez left Amillio and his 2-year-old brother inside her parked car outside a Bakersfield medical spa as temperatures reached 101 degrees.

Hernandez had gone to the spa for lip filler injections.

According to court records and investigators, the children remained strapped in their car seats while Hernandez went inside to complete paperwork and undergo the cosmetic procedure.

Although the injections themselves reportedly lasted around 15 to 20 minutes, authorities say Hernandez was away from the vehicle for roughly two and a half hours and never returned to check on the boys.

Earlier that morning, Hernandez had called the spa to ask whether she could bring her children inside with her.

A staff member reportedly told her that the children could wait in the waiting room if she wished.

Instead, investigators say Hernandez left the boys in the car.

When she returned to the vehicle around 4:30 p.m., Amillio was foaming at the mouth and appeared to be suffering a seizure.

Employees from the spa rushed outside to assist and quickly brought the older child inside to cool him down with water.

Amillio was transported to a hospital, where doctors determined his body temperature had reached 107 degrees. He was pronounced dead later that evening at 5:48 p.m.

His 2-year-old brother survived the ordeal and was later placed in protective custody.

Investigators say Hernandez told police she believed the children would be safe because she had left the air conditioning running in her 2022 Toyota Corolla hybrid.

However, the vehicle was equipped with an automatic shutoff system that turns the engine off after one hour.

According to an automotive expert cited in the criminal complaint, the car likely stopped running long before Hernandez returned, leaving the boys trapped in the sweltering vehicle without cooling for at least 90 minutes.

The case initially went to trial in December. A jury found Hernandez guilty on two counts of child endangerment but could not reach a verdict on second-degree murder and involuntary manslaughter charges, resulting in a mistrial on those counts.

Prosecutors later dismissed the murder charge as part of a plea agreement in which Hernandez pleaded no contest to involuntary manslaughter.

During the sentencing hearing, family members of the boys spoke about the devastating loss.

Their grandmother, Katie Martinez, said the sentence would never replace the life that was lost.

“Fifteen years doesn’t look like enough,” Martinez told the court. “Our city wept for our Amillio.”

She said the family will forever live with the absence of the little boy.

“We will have a lifetime without Amillio,” she said. “We’ll never attend graduations, birthday parties or even watch him sitting at the kitchen table eating a simple meal.”

Amillio’s father, Rosendo Gutierrez, who was incarcerated on unrelated charges at the time of the tragedy, said he learned of the death through a jail chaplain.

“Those were my boys. I really loved them,” he said.

Gutierrez later said he believes the punishment is not enough.

“This should have never happened,” he said.

While handing down the sentence, Judge Charles Brehmer acknowledged the profound loss caused by the child’s death.

“Maya is going to prison,” the judge said. “She already has a life sentence because of the loss of Amillio.”

“Amillio won’t be forgotten.”