Oakdale woman pleads not guilty to murder in DUI crash that killed daughter
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Juliette Acosta pleaded not guilty to charges in DUI crash killing her daughter.
- Thousands of investigative pages await defense review before preliminary hearing.
- Acosta remains jailed without bail as attorneys prepare for August case review.
Juliette Acosta, the Oakdale mother accused of murder in the crash that killed her 4-year-old daughter, pleaded not guilty Monday as her case moves toward a preliminary hearing later this year.
Acosta, 26, was formally arraigned in Stanislaus County Superior Court on charges including murder, vehicular manslaughter, DUI causing injury, and other counts.
About 25 people attended the hearing, filling several rows of benches in the courtroom. Family members of both Acosta and Reagan Herrin’s father’s side — the latter wearing “Justice for Reagan” shirts — watched as Acosta entered in a striped jail uniform and shackles on her wrists and ankles.
According to the Stanislaus County District Attorney’s Office, California Highway Patrol’s Multidisciplinary Accident Investigation Team (MAIT), Central Division Investigations Unit and Modesto-area detectives were among the agencies involved in the probe.
“There are thousands of pages of reports and records for defense counsel to go through,” said Deputy District Attorney Vita Palazuelos. “Homicide cases take a while to move through our court system. The hope is that we can get a preliminary hearing done this year.”
Acosta remains held without bail at the Stanislaus County jail. Prosecutors said defense counsel has not requested a bail review, meaning she cannot post bond to be released.
Her defense attorney, Gil Somera, said the plea of not guilty was a necessary step to allow time to review the evidence compiled by investigators.
“This case actually has thousands of pages,” Somera said. “We haven’t gone through all of that.” He added that his office received an additional 1,000 pages of investigative documents last week alone.
Asked whether he planned to request a bail review, Somera said Acosta intends to remain in custody as the case progresses.
Somera criticized what he described as “misinformation” circulating in media reports and social media posts in the weeks after the crash, including rumors that Acosta tried to leave the country or failed to help her daughter.
“The things I’ve looked at are contrary to those rumors,” he said. “When we rush to judge and we rush to use rumors, it does our whole community a disservice.”
He said Acosta and her family have been devastated by the loss.
“Juliette is a young mother with a university degree, with a good job, with a good family,” Somera said. “As a mother, she is devastated by what has happened. This was not intentional.”
An early case management conference is scheduled for Aug. 25. At that hearing, the court will determine whether attorneys are ready to set a date for a preliminary hearing, when a judge will review evidence and decide if the case should proceed to trial.
The District Attorney’s Office said no other hearings are expected before then as both sides continue reviewing evidence.
This story was originally published July 1, 2025 at 1:09 PM.
