ORANGE, California (AP) -- A 7-month-old baby boy who was tossed from the fourth floor of a hospital parking structure died Wednesday, the same day his mother made a first court appearance on charges of attempted murder and felony child abuse, a police spokesman said.
The child died Wednesday at the University of California, Irvine, Medical Center, and charges against the mother, Sonia Hermosillo, 31, were upgraded to murder in an amended complaint, said Farrah Emami, a spokeswoman for the Orange County district attorney's office.
The woman's husband, Noe Medina, told the Orange County Register on 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.
``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.'' Both the parents were immigrants from Mexico City.
The infant also wore a helmet to help correct his plagiocephaly, also known as flat-head syndrome, the Register reported.
Prosecutors allege that Hermosillo removed the helmet before tossing him from the parking structure at Children's Hospital of Orange County late Monday. She then went back inside the hospital to validate her parking, senior deputy district attorney Scott Simmons said after Hermosillo's hearing.
Simmons, the prosecutor, said Hermosillo's behavior showed she intended to kill her son, regardless of her mental state.
``It's not like she's in a fetal position when the police arrived,'' he said. ``She picks a specific location, drives to the top of the building (and) takes the helmet off. I'm sure she's depressed, the post-partum blues, I'm sure she had some of that.''
``It's going to be up to a jury to decide if she had the wherewithal to inform the intent to kill.''
Hermosillo made a brief court appearance Wednesday, but her arraignment was postponed until Sept. 16.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Joe Perez set bail at $1 million, but federal immigration officials have a no-bail hold to keep her in custody because she is in the U.S. illegally, said Jim Amormino, sheriff's spokesman.
Hermosillo is also on the medical ward, where she is being kept in a cell by herself and wearing a protective gown so she can't injure herself, he said.
The judge appointed a public defender for Hermosillo, but the attorney did not comment after the hearing.
Adams said a witness on the ground saw the baby falling just after 6 p.m. Monday and several people, including a doctor, called emergency services.
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 Hermosillo's home.
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.
<한글기사>
우을증 엄마가 건물 4층서 던진 아기 사망
미국 캘리포니아주 로스앤젤레스 인근 오렌지 아동병원 주차빌딩 4층에서 어머니가 내던져 크게 다친 7개월짜리 어린이가 끝내 숨졌다.
오렌지 경찰서는 어바인 캘리포니아주립대 부속병원에서 치료를 받던 노 메디나 의 생명유지 장치를 24일 (현지시간) 제거했다고 밝혔다.
메디나는 지난 22일 저녁 오렌지 아동병원 주차 빌딩 땅바닥에 중상을 입은 채 발견됐으며 조사 결과 어머니 소냐 헤르모실로(31)가 주차 빌딩 4층에서 메디나를 내던진 것으로 밝혀져 충격을 주고 있다.
우울증을 앓는 것으로 알려진 헤로모실로는 경찰에 구속됐으며 범행 경위나 범 행 경위에 대해서는 입을 닫고 있다.
미국 캘리포니아주 오렌지 경찰서는 23일 (현지시간) 소냐 헤로모실로(31)를 긴급 체포해 구금 중이라고 밝혔다.
남편 메디나는 아내가 지난 5월 정신병원에서 우울증 진단을 받았고 자녀와 단 둘이 있지 않도록 주의를 받았다고 밝혔다.
경찰 조사에 따르면 남편이 다른 자녀를 돌보는 동안 헤로모실로는 남편 몰래 아들을 차에 태우고 병원 주차 빌딩으로 갔던 것으로 드러났다.
주차 빌딩 방범 카메라에는 헤로모실로가 아이를 태운 채 주차장에 들어왔다가 혼자 빠져나가는 장면이 찍혀 있었다.
어린 아이가 땅바닥에 떨어져 있다는 신고를 받고 출동한 경찰은 방범 카메라에 찍힌 차량 번호를 수배해 헤로모실로의 범행을 밝혀냈다.
게다가 사고 직후 남편이 경찰에 전화를 걸어 아내와 아이가 없어졌다고 신고까 지 한 덕에 경찰은 쉽게 그를 체포할 수 있었다.
헤로모실로는 보석이 허가되지 않는 살인 미수 혐의로 구속됐으며 정신 감정도 아울러 받을 예정이다. (연합뉴스)