2-month-old's mom charged with murder a year after hot car death outside Harris Center, HPD says

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- 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 the Aug. 8, 2023, death of her son, Ethan Rosa Deras.

In a news release, the police said Gabriela Deras was at the Harris Center for Mental Health and Intellectual Developmental Clinic at 5901 Long Drive when patrol officers responded to a "meet-the-firefighter" call about an infant left in a vehicle and unresponsive. The Houston Fire Department rushed the boy to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.



Later this past April, 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.

Following the announcement, Eyewitness News has been poring through the mother's initial court appearance and charging document and contacted the victim's grandmother.



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.



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