Police: Baby tossed from US hospital has died

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.