The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has charged felony child neglect against a couple whose 8-year-old daughter, Aurora, died after an asthma attack in a home infested with cockroaches, mold, and littered with garbage and pet feces.
The DA’s Office said in a Tuesday press release that evidence showed that Gabrielle Hanson, 32, and Jacob Randolph, 39, knew about hazardous and unsanitary conditions inside their San Jose home and had been warned multiple times by medical and social service workers that the conditions were dangerous for their seven young children.
“When Aurora fell into serious medical distress, her parents waited eight hours before seeking medical help,” prosecutors said. “It was too late.”
District Attorney Jeff Rosen, in announcing the charges, also said the county’s child welfare system needs to shoulder some of the blame for Aurora’s death.
“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,” Rosen said in a statement. “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.”
The investigation into the child’s death also led to child sexual abuse charges against another adult in the home.
Jonathan Hanson, 44, was charged with two counts of molestation and one count possessing explicit phone videos of the victim, who was between the ages of 11 to 15 at the time of the crimes. Gabrielle Hanson, the stepmother of the sexual assault victim, was also charged with knowing about the molestation and doing nothing to stop it.
All three defendants were arraigned today. Aurora's mother and stepfather were released on their own recognizance over the objections of the District Attorney’s Office. Jonathan Hanson, Aurora's mother's brother, was remanded with no bail allowed.
Their next court date is Nov. 20, in the Hall of Justice in San Jose.
On the morning of May 13, San Jose police officers and San Jose Fire Department personnel responded to a home on Lancelot Lane for a medical emergency involving a child. Six children at the residence – aged two months to 17-years-old – were taken into protective custody by Department of Family and Children Services social workers.
Four days later, Aurora was declared dead. On Sept. 1, Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Michelle Jorden determined the cause of death for the 8-year-old was lack of oxygen to the brain due to severe asthma with acute lung injury in the setting of human rhinovirus/enterovirus infection. Medical neglect was determined to be a significant factor in her death, and the manner of death was homicide, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said an investigation showed that Aurora and her siblings had “lived in squalid and dangerous conditions for years, as documented by county social service workers.”
Detectives learned that the children had been living in unsanitary conditions since at least 2019. Prior DFCS and SJPD reports documented significant cockroach infestations. The infestation affected areas and items used by the children, including everyday household items, bedding, and medical equipment.
In February 2025, Aurora was brought to the emergency room by a relative for asthma, wheezing, and difficulty breathing. 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.” She was also reported to smell like cat urine, appeared seriously underweight and pale, and stated she was hungry and had not eaten.
During the investigation of Aurora’s death, detectives observed that her asthma medical equipment was not being properly maintained. Her prescribed inhaler was not located inside the residence during either of the two search warrants.
Detectives eventually found a dirty, poorly maintained inhaler spacer that was missing the rubber seal designed to prevent medication from leaking. Detectives also found a respiratory mask that contained cockroaches.
