The mother and daughter who ran a San Jose daycare where two toddlers drowned in a backyard pool were sentenced Friday to years in prison.
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Paul R. Bernal sentenced Shahin Gheblehshenas, 67, to eight years in prison and her daughter, Nina Fathizadeh, to 13 years and four months in prison after a three-week trial.
A jury convicted Gheblehshenas on three counts of child endangerment in March following a three-week trial and about two hours of jury deliberations. Before her trial was set to begin, Fathizadeh pleaded guilty to 10 felony counts, including child endangerment resulting in death or injury, authorities said. Both are residents of San Jose.
The convictions stem from the deaths of two toddlers who fell into a backyard swimming pool on Oct. 2, 2023, at the Happy Happy Daycare the mother-daughter duo ran out of their residence. Two toddlers drowned, while another was critically injured.
According to prosecutors, Gheblehshenas had left the licensed daycare to work at another, unlicensed daycare operating at her daughter’s residence. That morning, Fathizadeh was left as the only supervisor after another daycare worker called in sick.
Authorities said Fathizadeg was making breakfast while one child sat in a highchair near her. She allowed three others to play in a backyard patio area next to the pool, authorities said. The children were out of her sight and she failed to notice that a gate separating the play area from the pool had been left open, which led them to fall in, authorities said.
At about 9 a.m. Fathizadeh called 911 after finding one child floating in the pool. While she attempted CPR, her brother discovered two other toddlers unconscious in the water.
The victims, girls aged 16 months and 18 months, later died from drowning. A third child survived but was left in critical condition.
Prosecutors said neither owner checked the pool gate before letting the children play in the backyard.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen said the sentences underscore the consequences of failing to properly supervise young children.
“The care of small children — our own and others — comes with responsibility and requires close attention,” Rosen said in a statement. “This case tragically shows the difference between proper care and criminal negligence.”
In a victim impact statement submitted to the court, the family of one of the girls described the lasting impact of losing their child.
“Every Sunday, instead of spending time with Lily at Little Gym, we visit her grave,” the family wrote. “Happy Happy Daycare did something else to us too. It damaged the words ‘happy’ and ‘happily ever after.’ Now we hear ‘happy’ and think of the palace where Lily was killed.”