SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (TCN) — A couple has been charged in connection with the death of a 2-month-old baby in 2025.
Ozarks First reports Jonathan Gaona, 33, and Stephanie Hernandez, 29, were charged with second-degree murder and neglect of a child. Law & Crime reports the child’s name was Jaylynn and that Gaona was not her biological father; he and Hernandez reportedly were divorced and living in the same home and Hernandez’s current boyfriend was the infant’s father.
According to a probable cause statement obtained by the outlet, police were called to a home on Feb. 11, 2025, for a baby who was not breathing and had blue lips.
The responding officer found the child also had extensive, burn-like injuries. She was transferred to a hospital, where she was pronounced dead.
A police officer at the hospital with the infant described her condition: “A majority of her front torso was red in color and appeared to be missing the top layer of skin. I also observed redness, consistent with a missing layer of skin, covering the front portion of left front thigh and a portion of the left side of her face. When she was rolled over, I observed the same redness, consistent with a missing layer of skin, covering the entire upper portion of her back.”
The medical examiner determined the child’s cause of death was complications of thermal burns, with blunt force head injuries, acute pneumonia, and methamphetamine toxicity as contributing factors, and that the manner of death was homicide, Ozarks First reports.
According to the probable cause statement, Gaona told investigators he was responsible for the infant’s care while Hernandez worked the night shift. He reportedly thought she was working that night, but she allegedly went to spend the night at her boyfriend’s house.
He said he put the baby in the bath, turned on the hot water, and became distracted by the other children in the home. Gaona said he heard the baby scream but put her back into her crib without thinking much of it once the bath was over.
According to the statement, he said he noticed peeling skin when he tried to change her diaper after some time and thought he could treat the injuries himself without medical assistance. He looked up “what to do for baby burns” online and told investigators he believed that putting a combination of powder and cream onto the injuries would cure by hardening “like a turtle,” per the statement.
When Hernandez returned, she said they should try to heal the child at home on their own without calling 911. She reportedly thought the burns were from sitting in urine for too long and tried to treat the burns with cornstarch.
A woman who lived with the couple in the home reportedly called 911 even after Gaona and Hernandez begged her not to. Hernandez later said she was afraid it would cause her to lose her children.
Gaona told investigators he became overwhelmed and stressed out and admitted that he shook the infant’s head back and forth by grabbing her by the ears, according to the probable cause statement. He said, “I’m a monster, like really.”
During the investigation, all the other children in the home tested positive for methamphetamine and some tested positive for cannabinoids, but both Hernandez and Gaona reportedly refused to be drug-tested, Ozarks First reports.
After the baby’s death, Hernandez started a GoFundMe page to pay for funeral expenses with the goal of raising $5,000. In it, she described herself as a “mother with 6 children who unfortunately had went through a tragedy of loosing [sic] my 2 1/2 month old baby.”
Law & Crime reports the couple was ordered held without bond on Feb. 20. Their next court date has not yet been announced.
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