Sponsored message
Logged in as
Audience-funded nonprofit news
radio tower icon laist logo
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Subscribe
  • Listen Now Playing Listen

This archival content was originally written for and published on KPCC.org. Keep in mind that links and images may no longer work — and references may be outdated.

KPCC Archive

Mom who dropped baby from parking garage faces mental health hearing

Orange County woman Sonia Hermosillo, who allegedly intentionally dropped her 7-month-old baby boy from the roof of a fourth floor parking structure in August, has a mental health hearing scheduled for Friday morning.
Orange County woman Sonia Hermosillo, who allegedly intentionally dropped her 7-month-old baby boy from the roof of a fourth floor parking structure in August, has a mental health hearing scheduled for Friday morning.
(
Orange County Police Department
)

One year ago, Congress defunded public media. Now that we're 100% community funded, please become a sustaining member or increase your existing membership today.

Listen 0:43
Mom who dropped baby from parking garage faces mental health hearing
Mom who dropped baby from parking garage faces mental health hearing

Orange County woman Sonia Hermosillo, who allegedly intentionally dropped her 7-month-old baby boy from the roof of a fourth floor parking structure in August, has a mental health hearing scheduled for Friday morning.

Hermosillo, 31, has been charged with murder and child abuse for allegedly throwing her son off the parking garage at Children’s Hospital Orange County.

A court in Santa Ana appointed two psychologists to determine whether the La Habra woman is mentally fit to assist in her own defense. If they find she is not, she will go to a state mental hospital for treatment before returning to court.

Her husband and the father of the baby said Hermosillo suffered from severe postpartum depression.

"It's a tragic story," Scott Simmons, a senior deputy district attorney, told the Los Angeles Times in August. "I feel very sorry for the dad. It's a bad situation."

The baby was born with several medical disabilities, including one that required he wear a helmet to reshape his head and another that required regular physical therapy.

The child remained hospitalized for several days in critical condition, before finally dying from his injuries.

Hermosillo was found afterward to be a potential danger to herself and was placed on 24-hour suicide watch at Orange County Jail.

Sponsored message
One year ago, Congress voted to defund public media, eliminating a critical $1.7 million from our budget every year going forward. But they couldn’t silence us, and we’re not going anywhere. LAist is now 100% community funded and that means we’re taking our future into our own hands and turning to you to keep local reporting strong.

You come to LAist because you want independent reporting and trustworthy local information. Our nonprofit newsroom doesn’t answer to shareholders looking to turn a profit. Instead, we answer to you and our communities. We are free to follow facts wherever they lead and to hold power to account without fear or favor. Our only loyalty is to our readers and listeners and our mission: to inform, engage, and strengthen Southern California’s communities.

If this story helped you, please become a monthly member today to help sustain this mission. It just takes 1 minute to donate below.
Senior Vice President News, Editor in Chief

Make your tax-deductible donation today