HPD: Mom burned son's hands on hot griddle

Maria Delores Guevara, 32, faces a felony charge of injury to a child after she allegedly burned her son's hands on a hot griddle last December. Maria Delores Guevara, 32, faces a felony charge of injury to a child after she allegedly burned her son's hands on a hot griddle last December. Photo: Houston PD Photo: Houston PD Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close HPD: Mom burned son's hands on hot griddle 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

A Houston mom is behind bars, accused of burning her 8-year-old son's hands last December on a hot griddle in southwest Houston, according to the Harris County District Attorney's Office.

Maria Delores Guevara, 32, faces a felony charge of injury to a child, court records show. She was being held Thursday in the Harris County Jail on a $55,000 bail.

Investigators said that Guevara accused the boy, her biological son, of stealing a portable PlayStation at school, and threatened to burn his hands.

She made good on that promise, prosecutors said.

"(The boy) was brought into the kitchen after dinner and his mother pressed both of his palms down on a hot flat griddle that was on the stove," according to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday. "Complainant (the boy) stated defendant pressed down his hands for about two minutes. (He) stated it hurt and he cried ... (and) he pleaded with defendant stating he did not steal the PSP."

Police said that Guevara did not take her son to the hospital after the Dec. 19, 2012, incident or give him any type of medical treatment, despite the boy's hands being red, swollen and filled with pus.

The boy told investigators that his mother "threatened to burn his tongue if he told anyone," the complaint states.

The defendant's girlfriend of two years told police she was in the living room when she heard the boy screaming and rushed into the kitchen. Seeing the boy's injuries, the girlfriend took the boy to the bathroom where she ran his hands under cold water.

The woman said she was upset with the suspect, "but did not seek medical attention or report the incident to police because she loves defendant and wants to protect her," the complaint states.

Questioned by police, Guevara did not deny the allegations, prosecutors said.