Thread: Baby Dies after ILLEGAL ALIEN Mom Throws Baby off Building

CA mom couldn't accept baby's condition


Updated 02:51 a.m., Wednesday, August 24, 2011

ORANGE, Calif. (AP) — A mother suspected of tossing her 7-month-old son from the fourth floor of a Southern California hospital parking garage was treated for depression after the child was born with a physical deformity and she couldn't accept his condition, her husband said.

Sonia Hermosillo, 31, of La Habra, was being held without bail for investigation of attempted murder and was undergoing a psychological evaluation in the jail's medical ward, Orange County sheriff's spokesman Jim Amormino said. She also was on an immigration hold and could make a court appearance as early as Wednesday, he said.

The infant remained in critical condition at the University of California, Irvine, Medical Center.

The woman's husband, Noe Medina, told The Orange County Register in an interview Tuesday that his wife had been hospitalized for postpartum depression in June after she said she didn't want their son, Noe Jr., who was diagnosed with congenital muscular torticollis — a twisting of the neck to one side.

The infant also wore a helmet to help correct his plagiocephaly, also known as flat-head syndrome, the Register reported. It was unknown if the boy was wearing a helmet when he was tossed over the railing.

"She didn't look at our son as normal," Medina said. "She didn't accept him. She didn't accept that he was like this."

Medina said the boy was receiving physical therapy twice a week and was showing signs of improvement.

Medina also said his wife seemed better in recent weeks and he "began to trust her."

No one answered the door Tuesday at the upstairs apartment in La Habra where Hermosillo lives with her husband, two young daughters and infant son. A child's pink flip flops, a sand pail and two Barbie dolls sat on the stoop in the hot sun.

Neighbor Sonia Herrera, 40, said she knew Hermosillo before the family moved into the apartment complex two months ago. Their children attend the same elementary school.

She said Hermosillo was a normal, loving mother to her daughters and was excited to be pregnant with a son. But after the boy was born, the 31-year-old mother changed suddenly and seemed depressed, Herrera said.

She withdrew and, while bubbly before, hardly talked at all. Herrera became concerned she might have postpartum depression, although she never saw her harm the infant, she said.

"She was different. She was serious," Herrera said. "I asked her many questions, and she just said 'Yes' or 'No.'"

When she saw Hermosillo's picture on the news, she was shocked.

"I just wanted to cry, and I asked, 'Why? Why did this happen?'" she said. "I hope everything will be OK for her and for her baby and for her family because the girls are very young."

At a similar apartment complex less than two blocks away in a working-class neighborhood of single-story homes and 1960s-style apartment buildings, former neighbor Carmen Ruiz said she saw nothing wrong with Hermosillo. They spoke almost every day, she said, and Hermosillo was a stay-at-home mother while her husband worked in construction.

The couple, both immigrants from Mexico City, didn't seem to fight and were friendly with neighbors, she said.

Police have not released a motive and the Orange County district attorney's office declined to comment until prosecutors there received the case from detectives, said spokeswoman Farrah Emami.

A witness on the ground saw the baby falling through the air just after 6 p.m. Monday and several people, including a doctor, called 911, said Adams, the police spokesman.

Surveillance video showed Hermosillo's tan Chevrolet Blazer sport utility vehicle with an empty child seat leaving the parking structure a short time later, the sergeant said. The license plate was traced to the Hermosillo home.

Adams said that during the investigation, La Habra police notified detectives that Medina had reported his wife and their son missing.

An Orange police officer driving past Children's Hospital at 10:15 p.m. spotted the Blazer driving on a street about 100 yards from the crime scene and Hermosillo was at the wheel, Adams said.

Police said that Hermosillo was cooperating with the investigation.

Court records in Orange County indicate Hermosillo has no major criminal record but pleaded guilty to four traffic violations in La Habra in 2008, including driving without a valid license and having no proof of insurance.

http://www.seattlepi.com/news/article/H ... hp#photo-2

Woman accused of throwing baby described as happy, a 'lovely mom'


The woman accused of dropping her baby from a hospital parking garage was described by her La Habra neighbors Tuesday as a happy and “lovely momâ€

Mother of thrown baby placed on immigration hold, suicide watch

August 23, 2011 | 3:09pm

The woman accused of dropping her baby from a hospital parking garage is being held without bail on an immigration hold and was placed on suicide watch, according to news reports.

Sonia Hermosillo of La Habra was arrested and booked at the Orange County Jail on one count of attempted murder. Her 7-month-old son, Noe Medina Jr., remains in extremely critical condition and might not survive, authorities said.

Hermosillo's husband, Noe Medina, says his wife was hospitalized in May for depression and was not allowed to be alone with the baby, according to KTLA Channel 5.

Medina says Hermosillo grabbed the baby Monday while he was watching the couple's two other children at a home in La Habra, according to the TV station. He was not immediately aware of what had happened, but called police to report them missing.

Police received a 911 call at 6:20 p.m. Monday from a man who said he'd seen a baby fall from the parking garage at Children's Hospital of Orange County. Using surveillance video, investigators focused on a 2000 Chevy Blazer that was seen leaving the garage minutes after the incident.

The Blazer was linked to Hermosillo. At the same time, La Habra police had received a call from Hermosillo's husband reporting that she and their son were missing. Shortly after 10 p.m., a patrol officer spotted the Blazer driving past the hospital.

Hermosillo was taken into custody without incident and was cooperative with authorities.

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2 ... watch.html

By DENISSE SALAZAR and LARRY WELBORN / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A 7-month-old boy whose mother has been charged with tossing him from the fourth story of a hospital parking structure died Wednesday morning at UCI Medical Center in Orange, a police sergeant said.

Noe Medina Jr. died at 9:25 a.m. as a result of injuries he suffered Monday night when he was thrown from the Children's Hospital of Orange County parking structure, Orange police Sgt. Dan Adams said.

His mother, Sonia Hermosillo, 31, of La Habra appeared in a Santa Ana courtroom Wednesday afternoon to face two felony counts: attempted murder and child abuse. Prosecutors upgraded the charges after her son died to murder and assault on a child with force likely to produce great bodily injury resulting in death.

Hermosillo stood nervously clutching the chain link fence of a jailhouse courtroom holding cell and agreed to continue her arraignment to Sept. 16.

She talked with the assistance of a Spanish language interpreter as Superior Court Judge Joe T. Perez appointed the Orange County Public Defender's Office to represent her.

Perez ordered Hermosillo held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Deputy District Attorney Scott Simmons said the anticipated defense for Hermosillo will be postpartum depression, but there is evidence that she deliberated before pushing the baby off the parking structure.

Hermosillo is accused of driving her son to the CHOC parking structure about 6:20 p.m. Monday and tossing him over the railing, authorities said. The infant received therapy twice a week at CHOC.

"She didn't look at our son as normal," the baby's father, Noe Medina, said Tuesday. "She didn't accept him. She didn't accept that he was like this."

Medina, 29, said his wife was hospitalized in June after she said she didn't want their son, who was diagnosed with congenital muscular torticollis – a twisting of the neck to one side. The infant also wore a helmet to help correct his plagiocephaly, also known as flat-head syndrome.

"She is accused of removing the helmet and forcing the baby over the edge," said Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.

After tossing the baby off the parking structure, she apparently walked inside the hospital, validated her parking, and drove off, according to the district attorney's office.

Surveillance cameras in the parking structure Monday captured the license plate of a tan 2000 Chevy Blazer, which was driven by a woman and registered to an address in La Habra, Adams said. Detectives then received a report from a man who reported his wife and infant son missing, and determined Hermosillo had been driving the Blazer that matched the one in the surveillance video.

About 10:15 p.m., Hermosillo's Blazer was spotted by a patrol officer driving past CHOC on Main Street. The officer stopped the Blazer and arrested Hermosillo. An empty child seat was found in the vehicle, Adams said.

Hermosillo was cooperative during questioning but showed no emotion, Adams said.

Hermosillo has been in the medical ward of the Orange County Jail and is under psychological evaluation, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department. She is also on an immigration hold, he said.

Medina said his wife was taking medication for postpartum depression and went to her first therapy session Monday morning at Mariposa Women and Family Center in Orange.

Medina said his wife showed improvement in recent weeks and he "began to trust her."

Contact the writer: 714-704-3709 or desalazar@ocregister.com

http://www.ocregister.com/news/hermosil ... edina.html

By DENISSE SALAZAR and LARRY WELBORN / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Published: Aug. 24, 2011 Updated: 3:33 p.m.

Baby tossed from parking structure dies

Noe Medina Jr., 7 months old, died as a result of injuries he suffered Monday night when he was tossed from the Children's Hospital of Orange County parking structure. His mother, Sonia Hermosillo, appeared in court Wednesday.

By DENISSE SALAZAR and LARRY WELBORN / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

A 7-month-old boy whose mother has been charged with tossing him from the fourth story of a hospital parking structure died Wednesday morning at UCI Medical Center in Orange, a police sergeant said.

Noe Medina Jr. died at 9:25 a.m. as a result of injuries he suffered Monday night when he was thrown from the Children's Hospital of Orange County parking structure, Orange police Sgt. Dan Adams said.

His mother, Sonia Hermosillo, 31, of La Habra appeared in a Santa Ana courtroom Wednesday afternoon to face two felony counts: attempted murder and child abuse. Prosecutors upgraded the charges after her son died to murder and assault on a child with force likely to produce great bodily injury resulting in death.

Hermosillo stood nervously clutching the chain link fence of a jailhouse courtroom holding cell and agreed to continue her arraignment to Sept. 16.

She talked with the assistance of a Spanish language interpreter as Superior Court Judge Joe T. Perez appointed the Orange County Public Defender's Office to represent her.

Perez ordered Hermosillo held in lieu of $1 million bail.

Deputy District Attorney Scott Simmons said the anticipated defense for Hermosillo will be postpartum depression, but there is evidence that she deliberated before pushing the baby off the parking structure.

Hermosillo is accused of driving her son to the CHOC parking structure about 6:20 p.m. Monday and tossing him over the railing, authorities said. The infant received therapy twice a week at CHOC.

"She didn't look at our son as normal," the baby's father, Noe Medina, said Tuesday. "She didn't accept him. She didn't accept that he was like this."

Medina, 29, said his wife was hospitalized in June after she said she didn't want their son, who was diagnosed with congenital muscular torticollis – a twisting of the neck to one side. The infant also wore a helmet to help correct his plagiocephaly, also known as flat-head syndrome.

"She is accused of removing the helmet and forcing the baby over the edge," said Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the district attorney's office.

After tossing the baby off the parking structure, she apparently walked inside the hospital, validated her parking, and drove off, according to the district attorney's office.

Surveillance cameras in the parking structure Monday captured the license plate of a tan 2000 Chevy Blazer, which was driven by a woman and registered to an address in La Habra, Adams said. Detectives then received a report from a man who reported his wife and infant son missing, and determined Hermosillo had been driving the Blazer that matched the one in the surveillance video.

About 10:15 p.m., Hermosillo's Blazer was spotted by a patrol officer driving past CHOC on Main Street. The officer stopped the Blazer and arrested Hermosillo. An empty child seat was found in the vehicle, Adams said.

Hermosillo was cooperative during questioning but showed no emotion, Adams said.

Hermosillo has been in the medical ward of the Orange County Jail and is under psychological evaluation, said Jim Amormino, spokesman for the Orange County Sheriff's Department. She is also on an immigration hold, he said.

Medina said his wife was taking medication for postpartum depression and went to her first therapy session Monday morning at Mariposa Women and Family Center in Orange.

Medina said his wife showed improvement in recent weeks and he "began to trust her."


Contact the writer: 714-704-3709 or desalazar@ocregister.com

Father defends wife in death of Baby



With tears in his eyes, Noe Medina, the father of Noe Medina Jr., the 7-month-old baby who died after authorities allege he was tossed from the fourth floor of a parking structure by his mother, spoke to the media outside UCI Medical Center, where his son was pronounced brain dead at 9:25 a.m. Wednesday. He asked that people not rush to judge his wife, who was being treated for postpartum depression and whose behavior was completely unlike anything he has known in the 13 years they have been married.

What a mess. We didn't need her or her baby murdering drama here in the US.

Dixie