In a heartbreaking case that has captivated Texas, a young mother has been sentenced to life in prison for the tragic death of her infant daughter. Olivia Munoz, aged 22, admitted to charges of murder and serious injury to a child following the death of her 7-month-old daughter, Hazel Munoz. The San Patricio County District Clerk’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office confirmed her guilty plea, which was entered in October.

The sentencing was severe, with Munoz receiving two life sentences from a San Patricio County judge. This outcome was pre-determined as part of a plea agreement, allowing her to avoid the uncertainties of a trial. This week, she was officially transferred to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, where she will begin serving her sentence.

The tragic events unfolded on December 19, 2023, casting a long shadow over the small community of Mathis, located about 35 miles northwest of Corpus Christi. At approximately 6:30 a.m., a distress call was made to law enforcement, prompting officers to rush to Munoz’s residence on South Marigold Street. There, they discovered the infant, Hazel, unresponsive and without signs of life.

This case serves as a grim reminder of the consequences of unchecked anger and the devastating impact it can have on innocent lives. The community and those who followed the case closely are left to grapple with the loss of a young life and the circumstances that led to such a tragic outcome.

Around 6:30 a.m., law enforcement was called to Munoz’s house on South Marigold Street in Mathis – a small town located roughly 35 miles northwest of Corpus Christi. Responding officers found Hazel unresponsive and not breathing.

In short order, EMS personnel arrived and did their best to revive the little girl with CPR before rushing her to ER 24/7 Northwest in the Calallen neighborhood of Corpus Christi – a hospital located some 22 miles southeast. But it was too late and ultimately for naught; Hazel was pronounced dead shortly after arriving, according to police department sources cited by Corpus Christi-based NBC affiliate KRIS.

Mathis Police Chief Guillermo “Willie” Figueroa told the TV station that someone in the house called 911 after Munoz woke up to find her daughter unresponsive. The police chief went on to explain that Munoz told her mother that Hazel was not breathing, prompting the baby girl’s grandmother to have another family member dial 911.

Fast-forward to just after the child’s death – that’s when hospital officials reached out to police to describe the child’s host of injuries.

Officers then questioned the defendant, who readily admitted to injuring her girl during three separate incidents, and never seeking medical attention for Hazel after the fact.

“At the time, Munoz was pregnant and the mother of another daughter, a year and five months old,” the police chief told KRIS. “The older child did not have injuries.”

On Dec. 20, Munoz was initially arrested on two counts of injury to a child. Figueroa said two of the three admitted injuries were charged.

Then, the child’s autopsy was performed, outlining the extent of the prolonged abuse Hazel suffered during her short life.

The child had several fractures in her arms, ribs, and skull.

In January 2024, the autopsy results were turned over to law enforcement. Hazel’s death was determined to be a homicide. Local police then upgraded Munoz’s charges to include murder.

The defendant, by then, was allegedly voluble about why she did what she did to the helpless little girl, according to the police chief.

“She admitted she had a lot of anger towards the 7-month-old baby due to problems she had with the baby’s father,” Figueroa said. “She told officers that her three children shared the same biological father.”

Then, the Texas Rangers – a specialized division of veteran law enforcement officers based out of Austin – stepped in.

Munoz was formally indicted on three charges in March 2024, according to court records obtained by Law&Crime. She was charged with two counts of capital murder and one count of injury to a child in the first degree in the Lone Star State’s 343rd District Court.

The legal process churned slowly. A psychiatric evaluation was called for, along with a motion for an insanity defense, records show. A sealed copy of those results was filed in late September.

In mid-October, the parties announced a plea decision.

On Oct. 24, in exchange for the state dropping one murder charge and taking the capital murder charge down to a lesser-included murder offense, Munoz pleaded guilty to the remaining charges.