SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — Emotions were running high Friday at a sentencing hearing for two San Jose daycare owners convicted of child endangerment for the deaths of toddlers who drowned in a backyard pool.
On Friday afternoon, Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Paul Bernal sentenced the daycare owners: Shahin Gheblehshenas, 67, and her daughter, Nina Fathizadeh, 43.
Fathizadeh was sentenced to serve 13 years and four months in prison, and Gheblehshenas was sentenced to eight years.
One-year-old girls, Payton Cobb and Lillian Jade Hanan, were left alone in the backyard of Happy Happy Daycare when they toddled or crawled through a propped-open gate and drowned in the pool on October 2, 2023, prosecutors said. A 2-year-old boy was pulled out of the water, rushed to a hospital, and survived.
Daycare pool drowning victim Payton Cobb (Image courtesy GoFundMe)
The judge listened for hours Friday morning as the toddlers’ grieving family members delivered victim impact statements, and the daycare owners’ family members defended their character and actions.
Gheblehshenas was convicted by jurors following a trial in March. Fathizadeh pleaded guilty on the same day that the trial began.
Payton and Lillian died at a licensed daycare located in Gheblehshenas’ home at 1054 Fleetwood Drive in San Jose. Prosecutors said greed motivated the women to open a second, unlicensed daycare business in Fathizadeh’s home. “This allowed them to double their profits … without safety for these victims,” the prosecutor told the judge Friday.
While asking for a maximum punishment, the prosecutor said the sentence should send a clear message to anyone who works in the childcare industry.
The prosecutor said people can be greedy, “but when you enter this industry, you take on extreme responsibility. That needs to be clear to them, and everyone in this community.”
On the morning of the drownings, Gheblehshenas left the licensed daycare — Happy Happy Daycare — to go work at the unlicensed daycare. Fathizadeh was the only employee present when she guided three young children into the backyard to play, and left to go prepare breakfast in the kitchen.
Mugshots of Nina Fathizadeh and Shahin Gheblehshenas are seen in 2023 mugshots released by the San Jose Police Department.
“She let kids outside alone. It is negligent to let children outside alone at all, particularly in this backyard,” the prosecutor said. When Fathizadeh found the boy floating in the pool, she pulled him out, brought him inside, and called 911. The toddlers were still in the pool.
“She made no effort to locate the other children. She left them alone, again,” the prosecutor said. He added that the tragedy was caused by “gross and extreme criminal negligence.”
Fathizadeh’s brother, who did not work at either daycare but spent the night at his mother’s house, spoke in court on Friday. The brother said he had just woken up on October 2, 2023 when he heard his sister screaming and trying to help the 2-year-old boy.
He said, “I’ve never heard her scream that badly. Nina was like a deer in headlights. She told me to make sure the other two kids were safe. Nina did not know they were in the water.”
The brother said he did not find the drowning toddlers until he pulled a cover off of the pool and discovered that the girls were under it. “They did not intend for these kids to get hurt. There was no malice. This was a misjudgment of supervision,” he told the judge.
The pool gate was propped open by Gheblehshenas’ husband, and no one closed it before parents dropped off their children that morning at Happy Happy Daycare, according to court documents.
Using a Farsi language interpreter, Gheblehshenas’ husband told the judge on Friday that he has a terminal illness and only a few months to live. The husband said, “I ask for mercy. I beg you, allow them to come back home, so that in these last months of my life, my family is next to me. They don’t represent any danger for society.”
Fathizadeh, who was handcuffed and wearing orange inmate clothing at the hearing, was visibly distraught in court. She closed her eyes at times, taking deep breaths to calm herself down. When Fathizadeh’s brother and father spoke about her children, she cried.
Several of the deceased toddlers’ family members said the daycare owners failed to accept responsibility for the tragedy, lacked remorse, and deserved a maximum sentence.
Scott Hanan said his 16-month old daughter, Lillian, was buried in what was supposed to be her Beluga whale costume to celebrate Halloween. Lillian was a “bubbly” happy girl, and one of her favorite songs was “Baby Beluga,” he said.
Lillian loved playing peek-a-boo with her parents from behind one of the doors in her home. Hanan said he still looks over at the door, hoping to see his daughter’s smiling face pop out. “She could turn something ordinary into joy, in just a couple seconds,” he said.
The grieving father said every parent who drops their child off at a daycare should be able to trust that their child will be safe and return home. Happy Happy Daycare did not maintain staffing, and did not secure the pool gate, as required under law, prosecutors said.
Hanan said, “The danger created in that daycare was not limited to one day. This was a daycare gambling with children’s lives. We ask this court to impose the maximum sentence the law allows on both Nina and Shahin. We don’t want to hear ‘sorry.’ We want consequences. This sentence matters because Lilly matters.”
Lillian’s 9-year-old cousin also spoke at the sentencing hearing. He said, “She was really fun to play with. I wish she was still here and did not drown in the water.”
Fathizadeh and Gheblehshenas apologized to the victims’ families during the sentencing hearing.
“I love children. That’s why I chose to start this business, that’s why I named the daycare Happy Happy Daycare. My wish was to make the kids happy,” Fathizadeh said.
Fathizadeh said when she was pulling the boy out of the pool, “I was so panicked. I wish I could go back in time and react different.” She said she feels deep sadness, remorse, and accepts responsibility.
After the judge announced the sentences, District Attorney Jeff Rosen said, “The care of small children — our own and others — comes with deep responsibility and requires close attention. This case tragically shows the difference between proper care and criminal negligence.”
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