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CA Mom Threw Disabled Baby Off 4-Story Garage

By Cynthia Hsu, Esq. on August 25, 2011 | Last updated on March 21, 2019

Police arrested a California mom who threw her baby off a garage's fourth floor at the Children's Hospital of Orange County. Sonia Hermosillo, 31, was charged with a count of attempted murder with premeditation and a felony count of child abuse causing great bodily injury.

The 7-month-old baby boy remained in extremely critical condition at UC Irvine Medical Center on Tuesday.

Hermosillo had been suffering from postpartum depression after giving birth to her now 7-month old baby boy. She was taking medication, and had recently gone to her first therapy session, reports the Orange County Register.

She had also been hospitalized in June after she declared that she no longer wanted her son, the Orange County Register reports. Her son was born with a congenital condition that required physical therapy. He also wore a helmet designed to help correct his flat-head syndrome.

Hermosillo stands accused of removing the helmet from her infant son's head before dropping him over the edge of the parking structure at the Children's Hospital. After dropping the baby she also returned to the hospital to validate her parking before driving away, reports the Orange County Register.

"Attempt" crimes, like Hermosillo's charge of attempted murder, require several components. One important element of the crime is intent. Hermosillo must have intended to kill her baby boy.

Removal of the baby boy's helmet before she allegedly dropped him from the fourth floor parking garage could be considered evidence of her intent to kill.

Sonia Hermosillo is set to undergo a psychiatric evaluation and is being held in jail without bail, reports the Los Angeles Times. Further investigation may reveal why the mom threw her baby off the garage structure.

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