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Public Safety

Mother Whose Infant Died In Hot Car Found Guilty Of Abuse

An El Cajon mother whose four-month-old infant died after being left inside a car overnight at an apartment complex has been found guilty of child abuse.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports that the jury reached a verdict Thursday after two days of deliberation. They found 24-year-old Jessica Quezada criminally liable for forgetting her baby, Giovanni Soto, after a trip to Walmart. The boy's father, Israel Soto, was acquitted.

The boy was left in a car overnight in August 2013 and prosecutors say temperatures in the car reached up to 111 degrees.

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The parents' attorneys say the couple assumed someone in their group had grabbed Giovanni and taken him into their apartment. They called 911 when they discovered he was missing and found him unresponsive in the car.

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