SAN JOSE, Calif. (KRON) — A child was found dead inside a motel on Fontaine Road near Tully Road in East San Jose Tuesday afternoon, police said.
San Jose Police Department officers said they were dispatched at 1:40 p.m. to the location and found an “unresponsive child.” The child — whose name, age, and gender were not released by officials — was pronounced deceased at the scene.
“As with all major injury or death investigations involving a child, the San Jose Police Department is conducting an investigation per Santa Clara County protocol and is working closely with the SCC District Attorney’s Office,” the police department told KRON4. “Investigations into child deaths are highly detailed processes that require extensive evidence collection and thorough follow-up to determine the cause and manner of death.”
A child was found dead at a San Jose motel complex on Fontaine Road Oct. 20, 2026. (KRON4 Photo)
Police officials did not say if the child was in the Santa Clara County Department of Family and Children’s Services and CPS system.
The tragedy marked the sixth suspicious death of a child in San Jose within the past three years. At least four of the children were in the county’s CPS system when they died:
Phoenix Castro, an infant who died from fentanyl poisoning after living with her drug-addicted parents for just 13 weeks. Her father and father’s drug dealer were charged with murder.
Jordan Cam Walker, a 6-year-old boy who was stabbed to death in his great-grandmother’s home. His uncle was charged with murder.
Jaxon Juarez, a 2-year-old boy who suffered fatal injuries in a foster home chosen by DFCS. A teenager, who was Jaxon’s biological cousin and lived in the home, was charged with murder and sexual assault.
Winter Rayo, a 19-month-old toddler who died from fentanyl poisoning in her parents’ home. Her parents waited more than 11 hours before calling 911. They were convicted of second-degree murder.
Aurora Williams, an 8-year-old girl who was neglected and suffered a fatal asthma attacks inside a home infested with cockroaches and mold in the Alum Rock neighborhood.
Aurora’s parents, Gabrielle Hanson, 32, and Jacob Randolph, 39, were charged with felony child neglect earlier this October. The district attorney’s office said an investigation revealed Aurora and her six siblings lived in a house on Lancelot Lane with “squalid and dangerous conditions for years, as documented by county social service workers.”
Aurora was seriously underweight when she was brought to a hospital’s emergency room in February 2025 for asthma, wheezing, and difficulty breathing, prosecutors said. “While at the hospital, a bug fell from her shoe, and a cockroach was observed crawling on her. The girl told staff: ‘Oh yeah, bugs just crawl on me,'” the DA’s office wrote. Detectives found a respiratory mask that contained cockroaches in the home.
After her death in May of 2026, investigators discovered that Aurora’s sister had been molested by her uncle, 44-year-old Jonathan Hanson, according to the DA. In addition to child neglect, Gabrielle Hanson was charged with knowing about the molestation and doing nothing to stop it.
A coroner determined Aurora’s cause of death was lack of oxygen to the brain due to severe asthma with acute lung injury, a rhinovirus/enterovirus infection. “Medical neglect was determined to be a significant factor in her death, and the manner of death was homicide,” the DA’s office wrote.
“Detectives reviewed prior SJPD calls for service and twelve DFCS reports dating back to 2022, indicating that school personnel and medical providers had repeatedly expressed concerns involving unsanitary living conductions, inadequate supervision, irregular school attendance, and inconsistent medical follow-up,” a police report obtained by KRON4 states. “All seven children suffered prolonged exposure.”
On the night of May 13, when Aurora suffered fatal asthma attacks, she was in medical distress “for at least 8 hours before medical attention was sought,” the police report states.
The deceased girl’s six siblings — including a baby, four-year-old boy, and 5-year-old boy — were taken into protective custody by Department of Family and Children Services social workers.
Aurora’s mother and stepfather were arrested, charged, and released from custody on October 13. They were ordered to have no contact with their children. Jonathan Hanson, who was charged with child sexual abuse, remains in jail without bail, court records show.
In reaction to Aurora’s death, District Attorney Jeff Rosen said, “Another child is needlessly dead in this county, and once again our prosecutors will do everything in our legal power to hold the people who did this responsible. Prosecuting people after this kind of tragedy is necessary – and not enough. There are serious questions about how this child and her siblings lived in this dangerous squalor for so long. In the name of this lost child and the others, this community deserves honest answers and real changes.”
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