The Oxnard infant deaths case spans more than a decade, two deaths, and two murder charges—but it is now stalled for a reason that has nothing to do with the evidence against Marisol Flores.
Flores is charged with two counts of murder and two counts of assault on a child causing death. The case traces back to the death of one of her infants in November 2015.
That infant was 25 days old and died in Ventura County, California. Authorities haven’t disclosed the child’s exact date of death, gender, location of death, cause of death, or other medical findings. The Ventura County Sheriff’s Office investigated but didn’t bring charges against Flores because there wasn’t enough evidence at the time. For more than a decade, that remained the status of the case.
On February 8, 2026, at about 11:07 a.m., Oxnard Police received a 911 call about the birth of a child and complications associated with that birth. Firefighters and EMS responded to the 2400 block of East Vineyard Avenue, where they found a one-day-old baby boy with no signs of life. They pronounced dead shortly afterward, and Flores was transported to the hospital for medical treatment.
First responders noticed a suspicious injury to the baby, so Oxnard Police became involved. The department’s Family Protection Unit and Major Crimes Unit also responded. Police initially arrested Flores for felony child endangerment.
As investigators continued working the Oxnard infant death case, they said they received additional information that led them to believe Flores was responsible for the infant’s death. Prosecutors allege that she gave birth at a homeless encampment and killed the infant shortly afterward. They also said witnesses had seen Flores pregnant on February 7, but saw her the next day no longer pregnant and without the newborn.
By February 9, Flores was in custody, and Oxnard Police had publicly announced the homicide investigation. While police investigated the newborn’s death, the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office reopened its investigation into the death of her 25-day-old infant in 2015.
During that renewed investigation, deputies said they uncovered new evidence. They haven’t publicly explained what that evidence was or what led investigators to connect the two Oxnard infant death cases. Whether it involved medical findings, forensic testing, witness information, statements, or a comparison between the deaths remains unknown.
On February 10, Ventura County District Attorney Eric Nasarenko announced that he charged Flores with one count of murder and one count of assault on a child causing death in connection with the one-day-old infant. They set her bail at $500,000.
Then, on February 27, defense attorney Rebecca Mathis declared that she had doubts about whether Flores was competent to stand trial. The court suspended the criminal proceedings and appointed a psychologist to evaluate her.
Competency is a separate question from whether someone committed the alleged crimes or knew right from wrong when they did so. In California, knowing right from wrong is part of an insanity defense. The competency question concerns whether a defendant presently understands the court proceedings and can assist their attorney in their defense.
While that process was underway, investigators kept working on the reopened 2015 case. On March 10, prosecutor John Baric filed an amended complaint adding a second count of murder and a second count of assault on a child causing death, this time involving the 25-day-old infant.
The amended complaint expanded the Oxnard infant deaths case against Marisol Flores to include both children. Prosecutors also filed allegations involving use of a deadly weapon and the special circumstance of committing more than one murder. If Flores is convicted and the special circumstance is established, she could face life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Nasarenko publicly announced the amended charges on March 11. By then, the criminal proceedings were already suspended for the competency process, but prosecutors could still bring additional charges and allegations. Those charges haven’t been proven in court.
On March 26, the court granted a prosecution request for one of its experts to have access to Flores for an evaluation. Over the following weeks, the competency proceedings continued while the court handled requests involving medical, behavioral health, and substance abuse records.
Dr. John Lewis’ competency report was filed under seal on May 4, meaning it wasn’t publicly accessible. Three days later, both the prosecution and defense accepted the report, and the court found Flores incompetent to stand trial. At that point, the court found she couldn’t understand the proceedings or cooperate with her attorney in her defense.
Flores was referred to MHM Services of California for a felony placement recommendation. She hadn’t entered a plea in the Oxnard infant death case, and the criminal case remained suspended pending the court’s handling of competency restoration.
In California, restoration of competency can include mental health treatment, medication when appropriate, and education about the court process. The goal is to restore a defendant’s ability to understand what’s happening in court and meaningfully assist their attorney. If Flores becomes competent, the criminal case can resume. If she never becomes competent, the court cannot try her.
California generally limits felony competency restoration commitments to two years. Once the maximum period expires, the defendant must return to court. If the defendant meets the legal requirements for a civil mental health commitment or conservatorship, that process could begin instead. Otherwise, the court could ultimately dismiss the criminal charges.
In some circumstances, prosecutors could file those charges again later. However, the criminal case and the competency restoration period are separate. Refilling charges in the Oxnard County infant deaths case doesn’t give the state a new restoration period or restart the clock.
Also in May, the medical examiner’s findings in the 2026 newborn’s death became public. The baby died from a sharp force injury to the head, and the medical examiner classified the manner of death as homicide.
At the June 4 placement hearing, both the prosecution and defense accepted a report from MHM Services. The judge committed Flores to the California Department of State Hospitals for competency restoration treatment, set the maximum commitment period at two years, and credited her with the 117 days she had already spent in custody.
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The court also found that Flores lacked the mental capacity to make decisions about antipsychotic medication. It authorized the Department of State Hospitals to administer that medication involuntarily if necessary. The state system could place her at any designated state hospital, and the court ordered the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office to transport her.
By June 25, the court docket showed that Flores had been transported, and the case went off the calendar. The docket didn’t identify which state hospital received her.
On August 31, the court received a report related to Flores’ competency restoration status and sent copies to the district attorney’s office and public defender’s office. That report isn’t publicly accessible, so its findings remain unknown.
The Oxnard infant deaths prosecution against Marisol Flores remains suspended, with two murder counts, two counts of assault on a child causing death, and the additional allegations still pending. Whether the case can proceed to trial depends on restoration of her competency.
The incompetency finding doesn’t resolve the allegations against her. Flores remains presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
View Sources for This Report
Oxnard Police Department. Corrected news release confirming the location of the February 2026 infant death investigation in the 2400 block of East Vineyard Avenue.
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KCLU. Coverage of Marisol Flores’s arrest following the February 2026 death of her newborn son in Oxnard.
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Ventura County District Attorney. Official announcement of the murder and assault-on-a-child-causing-death charges filed against Marisol Flores in connection with the 2026 infant death.
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KCLU. Coverage of the February 2026 criminal case and allegations surrounding the death of Flores’s newborn at a homeless encampment in Oxnard.
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Ventura County District Attorney. Official announcement that a second murder charge was added against Marisol Flores in connection with the 2015 death of her 25-day-old infant.
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Ventura County District Attorney. PDF version of the official March 2026 release announcing the second murder charge in the 2015 infant death case.
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KEYT. Coverage of the additional murder and assault charges filed against Marisol Flores in connection with the 2015 infant death.
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KCLU. Coverage of Marisol Flores being accused of killing two of her infants more than a decade apart.
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CBS Los Angeles. Coverage of the allegations that Marisol Flores killed two of her infants and the reopening of the earlier 2015 death investigation.
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FOX 11 Los Angeles. Coverage of the second murder charge against Marisol Flores involving the 2015 death of her infant.
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Los Angeles Times. Coverage of prosecutors adding a second murder charge against Marisol Flores in connection with the earlier death of her infant in 2015.
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People. Coverage of the second murder charge involving the death of Marisol Flores’s 25-day-old infant in 2015.
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Ventura County Star. Coverage of the May 2026 court finding that Marisol Flores was incompetent to stand trial in the two-infant murder case.
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