A mother-daughter daycare team convicted of three felony child endangerment charges stemming from a 2023 double drowning at the pair's Happy Happy Daycare facility in San Jose were sentenced to sizable prison stints on Friday.
Mother Shahin Gheblehshenas received a sentence of 8 years while her daughter, Nina Fathizadeh, was sentenced to serve 13 years and fourth months on June 5 in relation to the 2023 deaths of two toddlers and near-drowning of a third in Gheblehshenas' backyard pool, the Mercury News reports.
In his ruling, Santa Clara County Judge Paul Bernal decried the situation as “a catastrophe for everybody” while lamenting his inability to bring back either victim: 16-month-old Lillian “Lily” Hanan and 18-month-old Payton Cobb. Both victims were found dead on October 2, 2023 after drowning in a pool on Gheblehshenas's property, which had been licensed as an in-home daycare center since 2021
The fact that Gheblehshenas, 67, was not home at the time was likely a contributing factor in her receiving a shorter sentence. Fathizadeh, 43, pleaded guilty in February while her mother opted to go to trial. Gheblehshenas was found guilty by a jury on March 24. Fathizadeh was also convicted of seven additional counts of child endangerment "related to separate allegations of transporting children in a vehicle without properly restraining them," per reporting from NBC Bay Area.
The Mercury News further notes that Judge Bernal’s sentences "generally fell in the middle range of what he was legally authorized to hand out," with a lack of prior criminal history benefitting both defendants. They will each also earn a half-year of credit for the jail time they've already served.
In a harrowing statement before the court, Scott Hanan — Lily’s father — detailed the challenging fertility journey he and his wife undertook for 15 years before finally realizing their dreams via adoption.
“Losing Lily was not only a loss for us, but also a loss for her birth family,” Hanan said. “Our home still has a silence that should never exist … Part of us is just waiting for her to come home.”
Related: More Details Emerge on the Two Toddlers Who Drowned at a San Jose Daycare Center
Image via GoFundMe
