A judge has sentenced the mother-daughter co-owners of a South San Jose in-home daycare to years in prison for the criminal negligence that led to the fatal drownings of two unattended toddlers in a backyard pool in October 2023.
Another child was left in critical condition at Happy Happy Daycare, the name of the daycare business owned and operated by Shahin Gheblehshenas, 67, and her daughter, Nina Fathizadeh, 43.
The pair were sentenced June 5 by Superior Court Judge Paul R. Bernal in the Hall of Justice in San Jose. Gheblehshenas was sentenced to eight years. She was found guilty in March after a three-week trial and two hours of deliberations. Fathizadeh was sentenced to 13 years and four months. She pleaded guilty just before her trial was set to begin.
Gheblehshenas was working at another unlicensed daycare in the fall of 2023 when three young children fell into the pool at her own home, operating as the Happy Happy Daycare.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen said in a statement:: “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.”
Prosecutors said that on Oct. 2, 2023, Gheblehshenas had gone to the other unlicensed daycare located at her daughter’s residence, leaving the children at Happy Happy Daycare under the sole supervision of Fathizadeh. At approximately 9am, Fathizadeh called 911.
The San Jose Police Department learned that four children were there at the time, with another on the way. One daycare worker had called in sick, so the children were being watched by only one person. While making breakfast, Fathizadeh left one child in a highchair and let three of the children into the rear patio play area beside a pool – unsupervised and out of her sight. She did not check and notice that the gate separating the pool from the play area had been left open.
When Fathizadeh went into the yard several minutes later, she found one of the children floating in the pool. As she attempted CPR, her brother, who happened to be there at the time, found two other children, under 2-years-old, floating unconscious in the pool.
The 16- and 18-month-old girls were later pronounced dead from drowning.
An investigation found the gate to the pool had been propped open, allowing the toddlers to enter the pool. Neither owner had checked the gate before the children were let into the backyard, even though it was known that it had been propped open several times before to water some plants.
One family member of the 16-month-old girl who died wrote this to the judge:
“Every Sunday, instead of spending time with Lily at Little Gym, we visit her grave. We put stones down and play her favorite songs, Mr. Sun and Baby Beluga. And then we leave without her. 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 place where Lily was killed.”
