Calif. baby tossed from building; mom arrested

Published : Aug 24, 2011 - 09:23 Updated : Aug 24, 2011 - 09:47

ORANGE, Calif. (AP) — A Southern California woman accused of tossing her 7-month-old son from the fourth floor of a hospital parking structure was arrested after she circled back to the scene four hours later, a police spokesman said Tuesday.

Sonia Hermosillo, 31, of La Habra was arrested Monday night, hours after the baby was thrown over a parking structure railing at Children‘s Hospital of Orange County, Orange police Sgt. Dan Adams said.

The infant remained in critical condition Tuesday at the University of California, Irvine, Medical Center, which has a trauma unit.

Police lines mark where an unidentified infant boy fell or was thrown from the Children's Hospital of Orange County parking lot on Monday Aug. 22, 2011, according to police. (AP)

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

A message left at a cell phone number associated with Hermosillo’s address was not immediately returned Tuesday.

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 Farrah Emami, district attorney spokeswoman.

"Our investigators did tell me that they’re certain she‘s the suspect and we’re not looking for any other suspects,” Adams said.

A witness on the ground saw the baby falling through the air just after 6 p.m. Monday and called 911, authorities said.

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 female driver was the only person in the SUV, and the license plate was traced to the Hermosillo home.

Adams said that during the investigation, the La Habra Police Department notified detectives that a man had reported his wife, Sonia Hermosillo, 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 Tuesday that Hermosillo was cooperating with the investigation. They declined to release any further details.

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.

It‘s unclear whether the family had any connection to Children’s Hospital before the incident, Adams said. A hospital spokeswoman referred all calls to police.

<한글기사>

우울증母, 7개월아들 건물 4층서 던져

(로스앤젤레스=연합뉴스) 권 훈 특파원= 미국에서 우울증을 앓는 30대 여성이 생후 7개월짜리 아들을 4층 건물에서 던져 중상을 입히는 끔찍한 사고가 일어났다.

미국 캘리포니아주 오렌지 경찰서는 23일 (현지시간) 소냐 헤로모실로(31)를 긴 급 체포해 구금 중이라고 밝혔다.

헤로모실로는 지난 22일 오후 6시20분께 오렌지 병원 주차 빌딩 4층에서 어린 아들 노 메디나 2세를 땅바닥으로 던져 중상을 입힌 혐의이다.

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.

크게 다친 아들 메디나2세는 어바인 캘리포니아주립대 부속 병원 중환자실에서 치료를 받고 있으나 생명이 위태롭다.