Overview
- Prosecutors say the 15‑month‑old died of heat exposure after being left alone in a vehicle on August 16, 2025, when temperatures in Frisco reached the mid‑90s.
- Investigators say Vanessa Esquivel worked a shift at the Hand & Stone spa that afternoon and left the child unattended in a car outside the business for more than two hours.
- A recorded phone call captured by the spa’s system is cited in court papers in which Esquivel told a coworker she had left the child in the car and said the death was her fault.
- A Collin County jury convicted Esquivel of first‑degree murder in June and a judge sentenced her to 25 years in prison on July 6–7, 2026, with parole eligibility governed by Texas law.
- Police and prosecutors relied on employment logs, the recorded call, McDonald’s and hospital timestamps, and medical temperature readings to reconstruct the timeline and press charges, a pattern that could influence how hot‑car cases are investigated and prosecuted.