A 2-year-old boy’s killing has become the latest in a string of deaths of children under Santa Clara County’s watch, prompting the district attorney to call for sweeping change and raise the possibility of criminal charges against those tasked with protecting him.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen on Monday announced new charges of murder and felony assault “with a hair tie” against a teenager accused of raping and killing his cousin, Jaxon Juarez, and blasted the county’s child welfare agency for failing to protect the toddler in its care.
“This is the third child in the last couple years under the care and custody of the Department of Family and Children’s Services who has been murdered,” Rosen told reporters outside Juvenile Hall after the teenager’s hearing. “Enough. Enough. Change needs to come, and it needs to come fast, and it needs to happen now.”
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen speaks to media members outside the Juvenile Justice Courthouse on Monday, April 20, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. The San Jose teenager accused of sexually assaulting his 2-year-old cousin before the toddler died has been charged with murder and county prosecutors will also seek to move the charges to adult court as the teen suspect just turned 18. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
Rosen said his office is investigating who else might be criminally responsible for Jaxon’s death — including potentially employees of the Department of Family and Children’s Services.
The county did not respond directly to Rosen’s criticism, instead reiterating its pledge to conduct a “comprehensive investigation” into policies, staff actions and “every interaction involving Jaxon during his time in foster care.”
A separate review by the California Department of Social Services — which has been monitoring the county’s reforms since the 2023 fentanyl overdose death of 3-month-old Phoenix Castro — is also expected.
“We are working urgently to understand exactly what happened,” county spokesperson Peter Gallotta said in a statement, “and we remain committed to publicly sharing the results of our investigation, and the independent investigation being conducted by the State, when they are available and to the extent permitted by law.”
The medical examiner has not yet released a cause of death. Rosen declined to explain the “hair tie” allegation, saying only that it “left a mark.”
The case raises questions about whether the county missed multiple warning signs before Jaxon’s death.
Jaxon’s grandmother said she alerted a social worker to a suspicious red line around his neck more than a week before he died. She also questioned whether another opportunity to intervene was missed when he was taken to a health clinic two days before he was found unresponsive in his cousin’s home. After five days on life support, Jaxon died.
The cousin, who was caring for Jaxon, has a past conviction for felony child endangerment — a record that child welfare experts say should have disqualified her from serving as a foster parent.
“How could they let that happen?” the grandmother, Elva Juarez, said. “I’m just numb.”
Juarez said she pointed out the mark on March 27 during a supervised visit at county offices.
“Look, there’s a line around his neck, I told the social worker,” she recounted in an interview with The Mercury News, adding that the worker took a photo.
Her son, Albert Juarez, said he later received a photo of the mark from an unknown number but deleted it because “I didn’t want to see my little boy being hurt.”
Albert Juarez, left, father of Jaxon Juarez and his mother Elva Juarez, right, leave a court hearing at the Santa Clara County Juvenile Justice Courthouse on Monday, April 20, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. The San Jose teenager accused of sexually assaulting his 2-year-old cousin Jaxon Juarez before the toddler died has been charged with murder and county prosecutors will also seek to move the charges to adult court as the teen suspect just turned 18. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
The Mercury News has not been able to independently verify that a photo was taken or review any image of the mark. County officials declined to answer questions about the grandmother’s account, including whether a social worker documented any such observation.
RELATED: Family raised concerns before San Jose toddler’s death as CPS faces scrutiny
The Department of Family and Children’s Services had been involved with Jaxon since he was born nearly two months prematurely with signs of fetal alcohol syndrome, the father said. The baby was allowed to go home with the father and mother, Brianna Burton, after the grandmother promised she would never leave Jaxon alone with either one of them. When a social worker showed up one day and the grandmother was running an errand, the county began making plans to remove him, they said. When the father lost his temper during a meeting to discuss Jaxon’s future and a social worker said she “felt threatened,” Jaxon was taken the next day, they said. The mother died a week later of liver and kidney failure, they said.
Jaxon was placed briefly with a foster family unrelated to the Juarezes before transferring to the care of his maternal grandfather, where he remained for six months. The grandfather told the Mercury News he could no longer care for the child with special needs. That’s when, in late February, the county placed Jaxon with the cousin in San Jose. Jaxon’s relatives said they didn’t know she had a felony conviction or that her teenage son might pose a danger.
Jaxon’s death is the third since 2023 of a child in the custody of the county’s Department of Family and Children’s Services.
The California Department of Social Services, as well as The Mercury News, had investigated the agency after the deaths of two children in its care, including baby Phoenix, who died of a fentanyl overdose in her father’s home in 2023 after social workers said she wouldn’t be safe there. Rosen charged baby Phoenix’s father with murder.
The second case involves the death of 7-year-old Jordan Walker, who was allegedly stabbed by an uncle in 2024 after the county placed him with his grandmother, despite concerns from relatives he would be in danger there. Jordan’s grandfather is suing the county.
“People in the public and myself as the DA would like to know who is responsible, criminally, civilly, morally, ethically, systemically, for what happened in this case, because this is not the first time that this has happened,” Rosen said about Jaxon’s death. “I think that we should all be asking questions of county officials at the highest level — why are horrible and tragic crimes happening to children in the care and custody of the Department of Family and Children’s Services, over and over and over again?”
Rosen said his office has filed a motion to move the case to adult court. The teenager, who recently turned 18, faces nine felony charges, including six counts of sexual assault.
The Mercury News is not naming the teenager because the case remains in juvenile court, where identities are protected, nor naming his mother to also protect his identity. If tried and convicted of murder as an adult, he could face life in prison. In juvenile court, he could face up to seven years in a secure facility.
The county has declined to answer questions as to why the cousin was chosen to care for Jaxon.
After investigations into baby Phoenix’s death by the Mercury News and the California Department of Social Services, the child welfare agency began reforming its policies in late 2023 and 2024. The state was nearing completion of its 18-month oversight of the county’s “corrective action plan” when Jaxon died.
“There’s important questions to ask officials at the highest level in the county,” Rosen said, “and I’m certainly going to be investigating to determine who may be criminally responsible for what happened to baby Jaxon.”
Outside Juvenile Hall on Monday, a small group of people carrying handmade “Justice for Jaxon” posters protested, including Evangeline Dominguez-Estrada, a friend of Jaxon’s late mother.
“Children deserve to be protected. Brianna, she had her problems, but she didn’t want this for him,” said Dominguez-Estrada, who brought her 7-month-old son to the protest. “The other day, my baby was crying and I was just thinking, who can hear a baby cry like that and continue to hurt them? I can’t imagine what this sweet little baby went through.”
Throughout the morning hearing, Elva Juarez, Jaxon’s grandmother with whom he lived until he was 20 months old, clutched a photo album filled with Jaxon’s baby pictures. She wore the small, striped hospital blanket Jaxon died with draped around her neck.
“I’ve been wearing it,” she said, “it’s like I could just hold him.”
Elva Juarez, left, grandmother of Jaxon Juarez visits with supporters outside the Santa Clara County Juvenile Justice Courthouse on Monday, April 20, 2026, in San Jose, Calif. The San Jose teenager accused of sexually assaulting his 2-year-old cousin Jaxon Juarez before the toddler died has been charged with murder and county prosecutors will also seek to move the charges to adult court as the teen suspect just turned 18. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)