The mother, 22-year-old Gabriela Elyzabeth Deras, was arrested last Friday, following the death of her son, Ethan Rosa Deras, who was found unresponsive in a vehicle on August 8, 2023.
According to the Daily Mail, the Houston Police Department discovered the infant in a vehicle parked at the Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual Developmental Clinic in Houston. Subsequent investigations revealed that Ethan had been left in the car for a significant period before being discovered by family members. Despite being rushed to a nearby hospital, the baby boy was pronounced dead.
In a subsequent twist, an autopsy conducted by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences in April determined that Ethan's death was a homicide resulting from hyperthermia. This finding led to the arrest and murder charge against Deras. However, the case is not as straightforward as it appears.
IS CHINA BUYING INFLUENCE? INSIDE XI’S $50 BILLION PLEDGE TO AFRICA
Deras' mother, Leonela Deras, has spoken out, claiming her daughter was suffering from schizophrenia and post-partum depression at the time of the incident. She told KTRK-TV that her daughter could be forgetful due to her mental health conditions. "She loved her son with her entire soul," Leonela Deras said, asserting that her daughter would never intentionally harm her child.
WATCH: PEOPLE ARE ABSOLUTELY LOSING IT WITH THE PRONOUNS
During a probable cause court hearing, it was revealed that officials had determined Deras to be suffering from a mental illness or an intellectual disability. She has since been granted a $50,000 bond and is prohibited from visiting any child unsupervised and taking any non-prescription medicine.
WATCH: KAMALA WILL AGREE WITH ANYTHING TO GET YOUR VOTE
This tragic incident is not an isolated case. In June, a young girl died from extreme heat after being left in a locked car by her mother's boyfriend while he went to work. Markise Outing, 24, from Florida, was charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child after allegedly leaving his girlfriend's six-year-old daughter in a locked car for around three hours.
NEW TITANOSAUR DISCOVERY SHAKES UP DINOSAUR HISTORY – SCIENTISTS STUNNED BY THE FINDINGS
In another heartbreaking incident, a three-month-old girl died from suspected heat-related complications during a family boating trip on an Arizona lake during a 120F heatwave. The region had been issued an extreme heat warning that day.
Moreover, a six-month-old baby died in a hot car earlier this month after a teenage neighbor allegedly forgot to drop him off at his father's house, resulting in the child spending seven hours locked inside the car. The neighbor was later charged with negligent homicide.
These incidents are a stark reminder of the dangers of leaving children in hot cars. So far this year, 18 children have died in hot cars across the U.S., with an additional four deaths still under investigation. This includes another six-month-old child who died in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, after their parent forgot to drop them off at daycare and went to work, leaving the child in the car.
