A judge ordered Roxana Ibarra to stand trial and imposed the precautionary measure of preventive detention. She is accused of homicide by improper omission with *dolus eventualis* (reckless disregard for the consequences) following the death of her son, Vicente. The minor had been left locked inside an SUV for twelve hours in Mexicali, Baja California.
The judicial ruling followed an initial hearing that began on the morning of Saturday, May 9, and concluded in the early hours of Sunday, May 10. During the session, the judge rejected defense requests to allow the accused to remain at liberty during the proceedings or to reclassify the charge to negligent homicide. A four-month period was set for the supplementary investigation.
According to the case file compiled by the Baja California State Attorney General’s Office (FGE BC), the events took place between the night of May 1 and the day of May 2 in the La Rioja residential area:
Roxana returned home intoxicated around 11:00 PM after attending a gathering with the child.
The boy remained strapped into his car seat inside the SUV for approximately 12 hours.
The FGE BC stated that while the child was locked inside, the mother consumed alcohol and used social media. Outside temperatures ranged between 35 and 40 degrees Celsius, causing the temperature inside the vehicle to exceed 45 degrees.
Autopsy results performed by forensic services determined the cause of death to be heatstroke; the child’s body also showed first-degree burns.
State Attorney General María Elena Andrade Ramírez asserted that the agency has a solid case to support the accusation. At the same time, the victim’s father demonstrated outside the Mexicali Criminal Justice Center to demand justice and propose legal reforms aimed at requiring psychological and family environment evaluations in child custody proceedings.
