SAN JOSE — An 8-year-old girl died over the weekend, a few days after she was found unresponsive at a home that had been the subject of child welfare calls, authorities announced Monday.
The girl was taken off life support Sunday afternoon, according to San Jose police and records from the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office. The coroner had not formally released her name as of early Monday afternoon.
The county’s child death protocol has been invoked, meaning the current police investigation into the medical emergency at her Lancelot Lane home will fold in investigators and prosecutors from the county District Attorney’s Office. The police department declined to comment further, citing the “active and ongoing investigation.” But for much of Friday, SJPD investigators, clad in body-length protective gear, could be seen carrying boxes out of the girl’s home while serving a search warrant.
Around 10 a.m. on May 13, San Jose police and firefighters were called to a home in the 1200 block of Lancelot Lane for a report of a girl unconscious and not breathing, which was followed soon after by a report that the child suffered cardiac arrest. She was placed on life support at Valley Medical Center in San Jose, which is where she eventually passed away.
While authorities have been limited in their public comments about the situation, sources familiar with the investigation have told this news organization that the home had previously been the subject of multiple police and welfare calls for suspected child negligence. One source described the condition of the house as being in “squalor,” citing the prevalence of animal urine and feces.
At least one of the police calls about the home voiced concern that the 8-year-old girl and another child were malnourished and appeared to be getting most of their nutrition at school. The sources also said that at one point the county Department of Family and Child Services visited the home — occupied by six seven children and six adults — and found no cause to take action. The agency was among those that responded to the home last week.
A county statement on behalf of the agency — which is currently under heavy scrutiny over its management and supervision of family welfare situations where children died — called the situation “heartbreaking” but said that the county was prohibited from commenting on DFCS contact with the residents at the home.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.