A La Habra mother was convicted on Wednesday of killing her seven-month-old son by dropping him off the fourth story of the parking structure at Children’s Hospital of Orange County.
The jury convicted Sonia Hermosillo, 41, of La Habra, of one felony count of murder and one felony count of assault on a child causing death. Hermosillo had entered a plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity. She told prosecutors she would rather her son die because he was sick and she did not love him.
“The most basic job of a parent is to keep their children safe from harm,” said Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer.
“This child didn’t even have the chance to take his first steps, say his first word or even celebrate his first birthday before he was murdered by the very person whose job was supposed to keep him safe.”
The child suffered from what was called flat-head and twisted-neck syndrome and was forced to wear a helmet. His mother admitted to removing the helmet and dropping him off a parking structure at the Orange hospital on Aug. 22, 2011. The Orange County District Attorney’s office said that after pushing her baby off the parking structure, Hermosillo walked inside the hospital, validated her parking and drove away.
Hermosillo has two other children.
Depending on the jury's findings, Hermosillo could either end up in a mental hospital, possibly treated as an outpatient or go to prison.
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Her husband testified there were many instances where she was depressed, catatonic and showed other signs of mental illness. Deputy District Attorney Scott Simmons, however, said that Hermosillo's decision to remove the infant's helmet showed forethought.