‘Pattern’ of child neglect found at San Jose daycare where toddlers drowned: court docs

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — Investigators found new evidence revealing a “pattern of negligent conduct” allegedly committed by a mother and daughter who operated two daycares for babies and toddlers in San Jose, newly filed court documents state.

The evidence was uncovered after two toddlers drowned in a backyard pool at one of the daycares, Happy Happy Daycare at 1054 Fleetwood Drive, on Oct. 2, 2023. In court documents filed on September 9, investigators revealed that the double pool drowning was not an isolated tragedy.

The mother and daughter, Nina Fathizadeh, 42, and Shahin Gheblehshenas, 66, operated a licensed daycare on Fleetwood Drive, and an unlicensed daycare at 1111 Pippin Creek Court. This week, prosecutors are looking into how many times ambulances were called for injured children at both daycares in the months leading up to the drownings.

“Any calls for emergency services … may be evidence of injuries to children as a result of negligence or child endangerment,” Deputy District Attorney Kenney O’Bryan wrote.

Prosecutors are also requesting hospital medical records to find out how many children were injured while in the care of Fathizadeh and Gheblehshenas. The requested medical records include X-Rays, doctors’ notes, and ER visits.

According to court documents, as many as 10 children may have been endangered or neglected at the two daycares on unspecified days between March 3, 2023 – October 2, 2023. All of the children were between ages 1-2 years old.

The follow-up investigations allegedly “revealed a pattern of negligent conduct by the defendants in operating a daycare,” court records state.

The toddlers who drowned at Happy Happy Daycare, Payton Cobb and Lillian Jade Hanan, were just 18 months and 16 months old.

A preliminary hearing concluded on August 28. A judge ruled that the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has enough evidence for the duo to stand trial for willful cruelty to a child causing injury or death.

Fathizadeh and Gheblehshenas appeared in court on Monday with a new defense attorney. They have pleaded not guilty, and remain out of custody awaiting trial.

Happy Happy Day Care Drownings

Happy Happy Day Care was understaffed, and there were no adults watching the young children when they either “fell or jumped into the pool,” the district attorney’s office wrote. A door to the gate that blocked off the pool had been propped open, police report states. No one closed the gate before parents began arriving that morning to drop off their children, according to the police report.

Gheblehshenas lived in the Fleetwood Avenue home. Fathizadeh was the only employee present when the drownings happened because Gheblehshenas was at an unlicensed daycare operated out of Fathizadeh’s home on Pippin Creek Court, according to the police report.

Payton, Lillian, and a 2-year-old boy were floating in the pool before Fathizadeh and her relative found them and called 911, investigators said. Paramedics revived the boy, but Payton and Lillian tragically passed away.

Fathizadeh’s Police Interrogation

Fathizadeh’s defense attorney filed a motion on August 27 claiming that his client’s Miranda rights were violated by San Jose Police Department detectives while they kept her inside a police interrogation room for nearly nine hours.

Her defense attorney argued that the interrogation, which was recorded on video, should be thrown out from evidence that will be used at trial in front of a jury.

“Police kept her in a locked police interview room for almost nine hours. Video recordings show that she was emotionally distraught and physically unwell, at times sobbing uncontrollably. Ms. Fathizadeh begged police to tell her whether the children were alive or dead, pleading … ‘I love them.’ Nonetheless, police refused to tell her what had happened until almost nine hours had passed,” the defense attorney wrote in a motion.

When Fathizadeh requested advice from an attorney, a detective replied, “By having an attorney, we won’t be able to speak to you today and understand what happened,” the defense attorney wrote.

A detective read Fathizadeh her Miranda rights, however, the defense attorney suggested that detectives dissuaded her from exercising her right to remain silent. She was also interrogated while under emotional distress, the attorney noted.

Detectives asked Fathizadeh questions for nearly two hours, and for the remining seven hours, she was left alone in the room. “She paced the room, talked to herself in Farsi, and was clearly distressed,” the defense attorney wrote.

Gheblehshenas and her daughter will return to court on Wednesday.