A San Jose couple has been charged with felony neglect following the death of their eight-year-old daughter, who prosecutors say suffered an eight-hour asthma attack before she died.
32-year-old Gabrielle Hanson and 39-year-old Jacob Randolph were arrested Monday in connection with the May death of eight-year-old Aurora Williams. As Bay Area News Group reports, Williams and her siblings were being raised in filthy, vermin-infested conditions in a home on Lancelot Lane which had been the subject of 12 child welfare referrals over the past four years.
Aurora Williams died on May 17 after being taken off life support. She had arrived at the hospital four days earlier, unresponsive, after Hanson and Randolph allegedly failed to address that she was in respiratory distress due to asthma for eight hours. Her cause of death, the medical examiner said, was lack of oxygen to the brain, with medical neglect being a "significant factor."
After the girl's asthma diagnosis, the news group reports, Hanson had been told by medical providers that her asthma could be triggered by the filth and squalor in the home where they were living, which was reportedly filled with cockroaches, mold, pet feces, and garbage.
The home was shared by the couple's blended family of seven children, including Aurora, ranging in age from 2 to 17, along with several adult family members including Hanson's brother, 44-year-old Jonathan Hanson — who has been separately charged with the sexual abuse of another child in the house.
As the Chronicle reports, all three adults were arraigned on Tuesday.
Gabrielle Hanson and Randolph were released on supervised release, over prosecutors' objections, under the condition that they not care for any children or contact their surviving children, who are all now under the care of Santa Clara County's Department of Family and Children’s Services, or DFCS.
"There are serious questions about how this child and her siblings lived in this dangerous squalor for so long,” said Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen in a statement. "In the name of this lost child and the others, this community deserves honest answers and real changes."
"Why does this keep happening? Why does this keep happening?" Rosen said, per KTVU — likely referring to the death six months ago of toddler Jaxon Juarez while in foster care, as well as the 2024 stabbing death of 7-year-old Jordan Walker after being placed in the care of a grandmother and uncle, and the 2023 fentanyl death of infant Phoenix Castro.
This is yet another case that will shine a spotlight on the failures of DFCS in keeping children safe.
The county reportedly had documentation that Aurora Williams was severely underweight, and had been seen by medical professionals and social workers appearing visibly neglected. In one hospital visit documented in court filings, a nurse saw a cockroach crawl out from under the girl's clothes, and she reportedly shrugged and said, "Oh yeah, bugs just crawl on me."
Social workers and school had also documented that the children in the house often had clothes that smelled of cat urine or marijuana, which led to social isolation.
"Despite prior warnings from social workers, repeated medical contacts, and their documented knowledge of the residence’s condition, Ms. Hanson and Mr. Randolph continued to allow the children to live in the home without taking adequate steps to address the cockroach infestation and other unsafe and unsanitary living conditions," detectives said in an affidavit.
Hanson's father, 70-year-old Clay Hanson, defended his daughter, telling Bay Area News Group, "She’s always been a good girl. She’s been a good mom," adding that she had never been arrested. Both he and Randolph attested to the fact that the parents had administered inhalers to the girl during the asthma episode, but while they usually worked, this time they did not.
Rosen expressed exasperation speaking to the press Tuesday. "We have a system that's supposed to protect children from these things. Why is it not happening?" Rosen asked. "Of course, this is a complex problem, but public servants are supposed to solve complex and difficult problems. These children's deaths have been met with reports and remorse and promises of reforms. And yet, here we are again."
Previously: Murder Charge Added In Case of San Jose Toddler Who Died In Foster Care With Family Member
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