Netflix’s August 2026 documentary A Child of My Own breaks down the story of Eleonor Alejandra Marín Mendoza, who faked her pregnancy and kidnapped a baby from the hospital.
While Mendoza claimed that she made an arrangement with the baby’s birthmother, Mayra Navarro, to raise the child as her own, Navarro insisted she never made the deal and Mendoza was arrested alongside her husband, Arturo Calderón Gamiño, in June 2009.
Following the August 13, 2026, release of A Child of My Own, Us breaks down everything to know about the case and where Mendoza is today.
Where Is ‘A Child of My Own’ Subject Eleonor Alejandra Marin Mendoza Today?
After Mendoza was arrested for kidnapping, she was sentenced to more than 13 years in prison and was released in 2022. Gamiño was outside of the prison when she was released.
Gamiño and Mendoza separated for a while due to his desires to have children, and he ultimately had a child with another woman. However, he and Mendoza rekindled their romance after the split.
The couple is still together today and they are raising Gamiño’s young son together.
Both Mendoza and Gamiño appeared in A Child of My Own to share their sides of the story.
What Crime Did Eleonor Alejandra Marin Mendoza Commit?
Mendoza married Gamiño when she was just 17 years old in 2000, and she believed she needed to have a child in order to be accepted by her in-laws.
After she suffered her third miscarriage, Mendoza decided to not tell anyone and continued on as though she were still pregnant. She then said that she met Navarro while working at a hospital, and they agreed that Navarro would give Mendoza her baby. However, Navarro has since claimed that she never met Mendoza and never agreed to give her the child.
After the baby was born in June 2009, Mendoza stole the child and went to a hotel in Mexico City with Gamiño. They were then found by police and were arrested for kidnapping.
Police initially believed that Gamiño was an accomplice, though Mendoza insisted that he had “nothing to do with” the kidnapping, according to El Siglo de Torreón. Gamiño was in jail for two years and six months before he was eventually acquitted.
After the case went to trial, Mendoza was found criminally responsible for the unlawful kidnapping of a minor under 16 years of age with the intention of harming her or someone else on November 9, 2011. She was then sentenced to 13 years and four months in prison, as well as being charged a fine.
