Following this morning's death of Noe Medina Jr., the Orange County District Attorney's office amended
its complaint against his mother from attempted murder to murder.
Sonia
Hermosillo, 31, of La Habra, is now charged with one felony count of murder
and one felony count of assault on a child with force likely to produce
great bodily injury resulting in death for allegedly pushing 7-month-old Noe from the fourth story of the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) parking structure Monday night.
She could get up to 25 years to life in state prison if convicted.
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Weekly web editor Vickie Chang has been all over this story since it first broke:
Hermosillo, who was already arraigned today on the attempted murder charge and held over in lieu of $1 million bail (with an additional no-bail Customs and Immigration Enforcement
hold), will now be arraigned in Santa Ana Thursday on the murder counts, according to the Orange County District Attorney's office (OCDA).
A statement from the agency alleges that Hermosillo removed a helmet Noe wore because of a medical condition before pushing the baby off the fourth floor of the structure. She then walked inside the hospital, got her parking validated and fled the scene, claims the OCDA.
Here is the full statement:
August 24, 2011
Case # 11CF2310
CHARGES UPGRADED TO MURDER AGAINST MOTHER FOR PUSHING 7-MONTH-OLD SON FROM FOURTH STORY OF HOSPITAL PARKING STRUCTURE
SANTA ANA – The Orange County District Attorney's office has filed an
amended complaint charging a mother with murder for pushing her
7-month-old baby from the fourth story of a hospital parking structure.
Sonia Hermosillo, 31, La Habra, is now charged with one felony count of
murder and one felony count of assault on a child with force likely to
produce great bodily injury resulting in death. If convicted, she faces a
maximum sentence of 25 years to life in state prison. Hermosillo was in
court today for an arraignment and is being held on $1 million bail,
and she is also subject to a no-bail Customs and Immigration Enforcement
hold. She is scheduled to be arraigned on the new charges tomorrow,
Thursday, Aug. 25, 2011, at 10:00 a.m. in Department CJ-1, Central Jail,
Santa Ana.On Aug. 22, 2011, Hermosillo is accused of driving her 7-month-old son,
Baby Noe, to the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC) and parking
her car on the fourth floor of a parking structure. The baby suffered
medical conditions that required him to be treated at CHOC regularly,
but he did not have a scheduled appointment that day. The victim wore a
helmet on his head for one of his medical conditions.
At approximately 6:20 p.m., Hermosillo is accused of removing the
victim's helmet and pushing her baby from the parking structure with the
intention of murdering him with the four-story fall. Hermosillo is
accused of then walking inside the hospital, validating her parking, and
fleeing the scene.
A witness who saw the baby falling through the air called 911 and the
Orange Police Department (OPD), who is investigating this case,
responded to the scene. Baby Noe was transported to the trauma center at
the University of California, Irvine Medical Center.
OPD obtained a license plate number from a vehicle and matched it to an
address in La Habra. The La Habra Police Department (LHPD) and OPD began
to communicate and it was determined that Hermosillo's husband had just
called LHPD to report the defendant and his son missing.
At approximately 10:15 p.m., Hermosillo is accused of driving past CHOC
on Main Street and was observed by an OPD officer. She was arrested at
the scene.
Baby Noe remained in critical condition until today, Aug. 24, 2011, when
he was pronounced dead at 9:25 a.m. due to the injuries.
The defendant is married and has two other children.
Senior Deputy District Attorney
Scott Simmons of the Homicide Unit is prosecuting this case.
OC Weekly Editor-in-Chief Matt Coker has been engaging, enraging and entertaining readers of newspapers, magazines and websites for decades. He spent the first 13 years of his career in journalism at daily newspapers before “graduating” to OC Weekly in 1995 as the alternative newsweekly’s first calendar editor.