Co-owner of San Jose daycare found guilty in drowning deaths of 2 toddlers
By Tim Fang
The co-owner of a San Jose daycare has been found guilty of felony child endangerment following the 2023 drowning deaths of two toddlers in her care, prosecutors said.
Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen’s office announced a jury convicted 67-year-old Shanin Gheblehshenas on three counts Tuesday, following a three-week trial. Jurors returned the verdicts after two hours of deliberation.
Gheblehshenas’ daughter, 43-year-old Nina Fathizadeh, pled guilty in connection with the drownings earlier this year.
“These defendants had the ultimate responsibility to care for these little ones and they criminally failed. These small children tragically paid for this inattention and incompetence with their lives,” Rosen said in a statement.
The drownings took place on Oct. 2, 2023 at the Happy Happy Daycare, which was being operated out of Gheblehshenas’ home in the Almaden Valley area of South San Jose.
Prosecutors said Gheblehshenas had gone to another unlicensed daycare located at her daughter’s home, leaving the children at Happy Happy Daycare under the sole supervision of Fathizadeh. One daycare worker had also called in sick that morning.
While making breakfast, Fathizadeh left one child in a highchair and let three other children into a rear patio play area unsupervised and out of sight. Several minutes later, she found one of the children floating in the pool.
Prosecutors said while she attempted CPR, her brother found two other children under two years old floating in the pool, unconscious.
Two girls, who were 16- and 18-months-old, were later pronounced deceased from drowning. The third child was critically injured.
Around 9 a.m. Fathizadeh called 911. San Jose police learned that four children were at the daycare at the time, with another on the way.
According to prosecutors, an investigation found the gate to the pool was propped open, allowing the toddlers to enter the pool. Neither owner had checked the gate before the children were let into the backyard.
“We can’t bring them back. All we can do is pray for their families to find some peace in the knowledge that there will be accountability,” Rosen added.
Prosecutors said both Gheblehshenas and Fathizadeh face more than 10 years in prison for the girls’ deaths. Fathizadeh faces an additional nine years in prison for reckless driving after she drove with seven unsecured toddlers on a field trip outing from the daycare.
Both women are scheduled to be sentenced on May 22.
