Jose Antonio Lumbrera, a four-year-old Hispanic male, was brought into a Garden City, Kansas hospital emergency room by his mother, Diana Lumbrera, on the evening of May 1, 1990. He was already deceased upon arrival. The day prior, his mother had taken him to a physician for convulsions, a complaint she had made about her other children in the past.
Although the doctor found no clear cause for the alleged seizures, a prescription for antibiotics was provided, which Diana never filled.
At the time of his death, authorities determined the cause to be asphyxia due to smothering. This finding immediately raised suspicions, leading to an investigation into the deaths of Diana Lumbrera's other children. It was discovered that five of her other young children had also died under mysterious circumstances in Texas over a period of several years. A life insurance policy for $5,000 had been taken out on Jose Antonio, which prosecutors pointed to as a motive.
Diana Lumbrera was arrested and charged with the murder of her son. In October 1990, a jury in Garden City took only three hours to convict her of the murder of Jose Antonio. She was subsequently sentenced to life in prison. Following her conviction in Kansas, Texas authorities reopened investigations into the deaths of her other children, leading to further indictments. Diana Lumbrera was eventually convicted for the deaths of some of her other children as well.
