Jury sees Maya Hernandez sob after learning of son’s death in interview

BAKERSFIELD, Calif. (Scripps News Bakersfield) — As jurors watched Maya Hernandez’s reaction in a recorded interview to being told by detectives that her son, Amillio Gutierrez, had died, her grandfather also watched in the courtroom with tears in his eyes.

Jurors on Wednesday watched Hernandez’s first recorded interview with detectives, taken before her arrest, where she appeared subdued but not openly crying. She quietly answered questions as detectives read her rights and reminded her she was not under arrest.

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Assistant Public Defender Teryl Wakeman on Monday told jurors the case is about a mistake, not murder, portraying Hernandez as a mother who ensured her boys were fed, hydrated and cared for. All details Hernandez told detectives during the interview.

Detective Kyle McNabb asked her to walk them through the timeline. Hernandez said she sat in the car until about 1:30 p.m., briefly went inside, then returned to the vehicle. Around 2 p.m., she was called back in for paperwork and believed she would be taken for her procedure soon. She acknowledged leaving the boys in their car seats and said she thought she would be inside for only 15 to 20 minutes.

Hernandez told investigators the car was running with the air conditioning on and said she did not check on the boys because her phone was with them and she did not know how long she had been waiting. Surveillance footage later showed Hernandez checking her Apple Watch multiple times, contradicting her claims that it had died.

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Hernandez described returning to the car to find the children red-cheeked. She said Amillio began “shaking,” and because her other son had suffered seizures before, she believed Amillio was seizing. She said she pointed the vents toward him, then grabbed her phone to call 911 and went inside to seek help.

However, previous witness testimony claimed that a spa employee came out 15 minutes after Hernandez and found her sitting in the car holding Amillio. The employee said that she didn’t think Hernandez had called 911.

As Hernandez cried in the interview, she said she could not remember every step of what happened and insisted she performed CPR while 911 guided her.

Lead Detective McNabb pressed her: “You were in there for about three hours while they were in the car… why did you think it was okay?”

“I don’t know,” Hernandez answered through tears.

Detectives also questioned her decision not to seek childcare. Hernandez said her sister — one of the only people able to watch the boys — was easily irritated, so she took them with her. She also said that even though she’d been told she could bring the boys inside the spa, she didn’t want to leave them in the waiting area while her procedure was taking place.

She insisted the car was on and comfortably cool, explaining that because it was a hybrid, it wouldn’t sound on to other people, but witnesses told investigators they did not believe the vehicle was running.

As McNabb informed her that Amillio had died, Hernandez began sobbing in the recorded interview. Her grandfather cried in the courtroom as jurors watched her reaction. Hernandez immediately asked whether her other son was okay and if her sister could be with him.

“This is not me,” she told detectives. “Everything I work for, everything I do, is for them.”

Detectives testified that Hernandez inquired about the children’s conditions only shortly before the first interview break, contrary to what her defense suggested.

McNabb told jurors Hernandez repeatedly gave inconsistent statements — including claiming her watch had died even though video showed her checking it — and that her report of the car not being hot conflicted with witness testimony.

A second recorded interview was conducted after Hernandez was formally arrested. Jurors are expected to view that footage on Thursday as testimony continues.

This story was originally published by Scripps News Bakersfield, an E.W. Scripps Company.