By F. Scott Faulkner
On the morning of September 10, Santa Barbara Police Department uniformed patrol
officers responded to a 911 Emergency report described by Santa Barbara Police Department Public Information
Officer Sgt. Ethan Ragsdale as “a mother who had just given birth to an
unresponsive baby.”
With all due alacrity, along with city firefighters and American Medical Response
personnel on their heels, the cops rolled up to a Westside apartment complex.
Upon arrival, responders found both 20-year-old Joseline Lopez-Hernandez with her
unresponsive newborn child inside the apartment. Both were quickly transported to
Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital where “medical staff successfully revived the infant,”
who regained a pulse and began breathing after urgent, lifesaving measures were
implemented.
The ensuing investigation into the incident led SBPD detectives to the determination
that this was not, in fact, a case of a stillborn child, but that Lopez-Hernandez had
actually attempted to smother her newborn. Following these revelations, Lopez-
Hernandez was arrested and transported to the Santa Barbara County Jail, where was
booked on charges of attempted murder and cruel or unusual punishment on a minor
child.
Lopez-Hernandez remains in custody on a no-bail hold.
