¶®É«µÛ

Gloria Elena Hughes, 39, of ¶®É«µÛ, pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and first-degree child abuse resulting in the death of a child under 13 during Harford County Superior Court on July 7. Hughes was deemed not criminally responsible for either charge, according to court documents.

Hughes was transferred to the custody of the Maryland Department of Health where she is currently being held in a state psychiatric facility for an undetermined amount of time, according to the Harford County Clerk of Courts Office.

The Bel Air Police Department said previously that Hughes was found standing in the middle of a street holding an unresponsive toddler. The toddler was identified as Hughes’ 3-year-old son, Jason Garcia. Hughes was found by an off-duty Harford County deputy shortly before 5:30 a.m. on Dec. 3, 2023. Jason was taken to the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center where he was pronounced dead around 6 a.m., according to a previous statement.

Days before, on Dec. 1, 2023, Hughes and her child were in Burke County. That day, a man called 911 to say Hughes took his cellphone and barricaded herself in a bedroom with their son. At the time, the child’s safety was not in question, according to 911 calls from that night.

The following day, Hughes took Jason to Maryland. They went to the University of Maryland Upper Chesapeake Medical Center for eating a boric acid suppository. Hughes and Jason left the hospital in the early morning hours of Dec. 3, 2023, Bel Air police said previously.

Hughes was caught on camera a short time later assaulting Jason near a storage facility in Bel Air, Maryland.

On Dec. 21, 2023, the Harford County Superior Court ruled that Hughes was incompetent to stand trial temporarily, according to a previous News Herald article. Hughes’ trial was rescheduled twice before her plea. Hughes would have stood trial next week if she had not pleaded in July, according to court documents.