The Houston Police Department announced a murder charge against a 22-year-old mother who investigators say left her 2-month-old baby in a car during a 100-degree day nearly a year ago.
On Monday, HPD released information about Gabriela Elyzabeth Deras' charge in connection with the 2023 death of her son, Ethan Rosa Deras.
Ethan Left in Hot Car on Day When Temperatures in Houston Reached Triple Digits
According to the Houston Police Department, patrol officers responded to a call about an infant left behind in a vehicle and in an unresponsive condition in southeast Houston on Aug. 8, 2023.
The Houston Fire Department tried to revive the boy before rushing him to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Investigators later said the baby had been in the vehicle for nearly three hours and his body temperature was 108.
According to the National Weather Service, the temperature on the day the baby was found reached triple digits. 2023 was the hottest Houston summer on record.
Ethan's Death Ruled as Homicide, Hyperthermia Determined as Cause of Death
In April this year, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences ruled Ethan's death as a homicide with hyperthermia as the cause of death. Authorities arrested the mother last Friday, Aug. 2.
Prosecutors said Deras left the baby in the car when she went into a Harris Health facility with another child.They said she changed her story several times when she was questioned by police. She initially told them she thought the baby was with his grandmother and then claimed she left the air conditioner running.
Gabriela Deras sits behind bars on a $50,000 bond. During her probable cause court hearing, the hearing officer noted Gabriela Deras was determined to have a mental illness or be a person with an intellectual disability. The court issued bond conditions, including no unsupervised visits with any child and no medications unless prescribed.
Last month, a 4-year-old girl died after being left in a pickup in northwest Houston. Police said there may have been a miscommunication between two adult women as they went into an apartment with multiple children and didn't realize the girl was still in the truck until it was too late.
