A quiet Bel Air street turned into a crime scene early Sunday morning when an off-duty Harford County sheriff’s deputy came across a horrifying sight.
“An off-duty Harford County Sheriff’s deputy was traveling through the area, and he saw an adult female standing in the middle of the road,” Bel Air Police Chief Charles Moore said. “But she was holding a lifeless child that we determined to be her child.”
The woman was later identified as 37-year-old Gloria Elena Hughes of Morganton, North Carolina. Her son, three-year-old Jason Garcia, was declared dead despite efforts to save him. Investigators say Hughes fled her hometown in the midst of a custody battle, and Jason’s father had already alerted police in North Carolina that she might be headed to Maryland, WMAR reported.
Charging documents reveal that Hughes and her son were spotted in Bel Air late Saturday after a man reported seeing them inside a vehicle he had left running on Gateway Drive. Later that night, Hughes brought Jason to the emergency room at Upper Chesapeake Medical Center, claiming he had ingested one of her suppositories. The boy was treated and released.
Hours later, at around 5 a.m., surveillance cameras at Self Storage Plus recorded disturbing footage. Investigators say the video shows Hughes struggling with her son, slamming his head against the ground, and then grabbing his legs before body-slamming him.
Police believe the attack caused the injuries that led to Jason’s death. The incident marks the first homicide case in Bel Air in more than a decade. Chief Moore said the shocking case has taken a heavy toll on everyone involved. “We’re dealing with it,” he explained. “I give kudos to all of our partners who were involved.
We have the sheriff’s office that assisted us, Harford County Child Advocacy, EMS personnel, down to our dispatchers, our patrol officers who provided CPR. We’re working with them afterwards to deal with the grief and the stress that they’re going through.”
Authorities continue to investigate Hughes’ actions in the hours leading up to the killing and her flight from North Carolina. She remains in custody as police and prosecutors determine the full scope of charges she will face.
The case has drawn widespread attention, not only because of the brutality of the crime, but also because it is Bel Air’s first murder case in nearly twelve years. For a community unaccustomed to such violence, the tragedy has left neighbors shaken and law enforcement officials grappling with the emotional aftermath.