A Texas woman has been sentenced to 25 years in prison after a jury found her guilty of murder for intentionally leaving her 15-month-old son inside a hot car while she worked a two-and-a-half-hour shift.
Vanessa Esquivel, 28, brought her toddler to work with her at a Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa in Plano on Aug. 16, 2025, even though she knew the air conditioning in her car was not working, according to an arrest affidavit obtained by KTVT.
Temperatures reached 96 degrees that day.
Investigators said Esquivel arrived at the spa around 1:45 p.m. and left her son alone in the vehicle while she went inside and provided massage services to two clients.
One employee told police that Esquivel remained inside the spa for her entire shift and did not return to the car until she left work at about 4:15 p.m.
By then, the toddler was in critical condition.
Instead of driving directly to the emergency room, Esquivel stopped at McDonald’s to order food while her son was dying, according to the affidavit.
She did not arrive at Medical City Plano Hospital until around 5:30 p.m.
Medical staff said the boy was already dead when he arrived. His body temperature was 106 degrees.
Esquivel allegedly told hospital staff that her son had become ill while she was driving him around in a car without working air conditioning.
When police questioned her, she initially claimed she had been with the child all day.
An officer noticed she was wearing a work uniform with the Hand and Stone Massage and Facial Spa logo and asked whether she had worked that day. Esquivel denied completing a shift.
Her co-workers later told investigators otherwise.
They said Esquivel had arrived at 1:45 p.m., worked on two clients and never brought her son inside the business. An employee also said she did not leave the spa to check on him until her shift ended.
The following day, Esquivel called the spa and told a co-worker that her son had died. She reportedly said she had been “between a rock and a hard place” because she could not find anyone to watch him while she worked.
During that call, Esquivel allegedly claimed she had left the toddler in the car with the air conditioning running.
She also asked the co-worker not to tell anyone about the conversation because police were investigating her son’s death, according to the affidavit.
A jury found Esquivel guilty of murder on June 16.
She was later sentenced to 25 years in prison.
How are these people so stupid? She is a Mexican so that is probably one of the reasons that she isn’t very smart.
Diversity is wonderful for Amerika!!
Just ask a bureaucrat politician.