BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Scripps News Bakersfield) — Two days after one-year-old Amillio Gutierrez died from heat stroke, detectives pressed his mother on her mindset leading up to leaving Amillio and his brother in a hot car.
“What do you think could happen if you leave your kids there?” Lead Detective Kyle McNabb asked Maya Hernandez in a recording. The video was of the second interview with Hernandez, following her official arrest.
Maya Hernandez appears in court during opening statements in her murder trial on Dec. 8, 2025. (Court TV)
“What happened, I guess. I don’t know,” she said.
Hernandez is standing trial on charges of second-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment for the June 29 incident that killed her young son.
During the second recorded interview, which was played for the jury last week, Hernandez tells detectives that she is a certified nursing assistant. She said she’d seen things in the news and from people in general about the dangers of leaving children alone in the car.
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“I didn’t leave him in there to die,” she said in the recording.
“I don’t think it was intentional,” McNabb responds.
In the interview, McNabb asks if she had considered what she would do with the kids when she got to the appointment. Hernandez said she didn’t, even though she’d brought a stroller and the medical spa had told her she could take the children inside as long as they stayed in the waiting area.
When asked again about leaving the children, Hernandez said she left them with the AC running and her phone because they were asleep.
Prosecutor Stephanie Taconi questioned McNabb about these statements and whether they aligned with what Hernandez had previously told them. He said that previously she’d said she didn’t take them inside because she was concerned about leaving them in the waiting area during her procedure.
On Thursday, the prosecution also called to the stand the registered nurse who was conducting Hernandez’s procedure. Harmony Pacheco, who goes by her middle name, testified that Hernandez attended the appointment for a BBL and that it lasted about 15 to 20 minutes.
Pacheco said after the appointment, Hernandez left to get her phone to pay. When she returned, though, she was carrying Amillio in her arms, Pacheco testified.
“He was purple, he had foam in his mouth, but I didn’t get such a great look at the child,” Pacheco said. “I shouted for someone to call the ambulance, and then she went back outside.”
Pacheco said that after that, a spa employee brought the other child inside, and Pacheco took him to the restroom to wet him with napkins and give him fresh water.
“I wet his head because he looked like he was going to pass out,” she said.
“Did he feel hot?” asked Taconi.
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“Very hot,” Pacheco answered.
The prosecution also recalled Detective Dean Barthelmes and called Detective Chad Ott on Thursday to question them about the recreation of the incident. Barthelmes said he consulted with Ott about the recreation as well as other officers and a fire captain.
Ott testified to his background in science before becoming a police officer. He has an associate’s degree in biology and bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and biology. He testified to his research and work in math and physics. He said that because of this background, he works with the department in investigating major crashes by conducting recreations.
“It seemed like a very exhaustive examination. I was surprised that that much effort was going to be put in it,” Ott said about Barthelmes’s plan.
While on the stand, Assistant Public Defender Teryl Wakeman attempted to poke holes in the accuracy of the recreation.
Wakeman pointed out that the recreation did not have anyone in the car, like the day of the incident, and questioned whether that changed the initial temperature for the recreation. He also pointed out that on the day of the incident, Hernandez drove from Visalia, whereas in the recreation, the car was left running idle for an hour before being driven to the location.
Ott said that the distance traveled wouldn’t make a difference here, in his opinion, as long as the car was given enough time to reach the same sitting temperature, which he said would only take 10 to 15 minutes with the AC on. He said the change in temperature was the main question here.
Wakeman also questioned Ott about the lack of a control group in this recreation and whether that was a flaw. Ott said he didn’t think so, pointing to other similar published studies. Ott testified that in this case, he believes the outcome was more favorable to Hernandez compared to others.
This story was originally written by Veronica Morely for Scripps News Bakersfield, an E.W. Scripps Company.
