Local & Community
Coachella Woman Pleads Guilty to First-Degree Murder in Son’s Death
A Coachella woman has pleaded guilty to first-degree murder in the death of her five-year-old son.
Forty-one-year-old Vanessa Cervantes Rangel entered her plea Friday in Riverside County Superior Court in Indio. She also pleaded guilty to assault on a child resulting in death, torture and four misdemeanor counts of child abuse.
The case dates back to September 2022, when deputies responded to Rangel’s home in Coachella. They found the boy unconscious and gravely injured. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
During a preliminary hearing, an investigator testified that the child’s siblings described repeated beatings. Evidence presented in the case included lesions across the boy’s body, a split lip and an area of skin missing from his arm.
Rangel’s mother, Hilaria Cervantes Rangel, and her sister, Miriam Silva, are also charged with murder. Their defense attorneys have argued that the women did not actively participate in the abuse. Both are out on bail and scheduled to stand trial January 15.
Vanessa Cervantes Rangel remains in custody without bail. A sentencing date has not yet been announced.
By: NBC Palm Springs
October 23, 2026
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