A California mother has been convicted of murdering her 7-month-old baby 10 years ago.
Another trial is on the books to determine whether she was legally insane when the crime was committed.
via People:
According to the Orange County District Attorney’s Office, Sonia Hermosillo, now 41, was convicted by a jury Wednesday of one felony count of murder and one felony count of assault on a child causing death. She had previously entered a plea of not guilty and not guilty by reason of insanity.
Now the same jury will have to determine whether Hermosillo (who has two other children) was legally insane when it happened. The trial starts Aug. 24.
Authorities say that on Aug. 22, 2011, Hermosillo parked her car on the fourth floor of a parking deck at the Children’s Hospital of Orange County, where her son Noe received regular medical treatment for conditions he suffered from.
Noe wore a helmet for one of his conditions, which Hermosillo took off of him that day at about 6:20 p.m. local time, when she pushed her baby son off the parking deck “with the intention of murdering him with the four-story fall,” according to the District Attorney’s Office.
“Hermosillo then walked inside the hospital, validated her parking, and drove away,” the prosecutors added.
First responders took Noe, who was in critical condition, to the trauma center at University of California, Irvine Medical Center, but he died two days later. Hermosillo’s husband had called law enforcement to report her missing, and an officer later found Hermosillo and arrested her.
“The most basic job of a parent is to keep their children safe from harm,” Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said in a press release. “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.”
“Baby Noe may not have been on this earth very long, but the men and women of the Orange Police Department and the Orange County District Attorney’s Office never gave up the fight for justice in this case,” he added. “Thank you to our law enforcement partners and to Senior Deputy District Attorney Mena Guirguis for their dedication to the pursuit of justice and for putting victims first.”
10 years later? That is some S L O W justice.
