San Jose daycare operator pleads guilty to toddler drowning deaths

More details emerge about toddlers who drowned at San Jose daycare

More details are being revealed about the two toddlers who tragically drowned at a San Jose daycare earlier this month.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A San Jose woman charged in the drowning deaths of two toddlers at her family-run daycare in 2023 has pleaded guilty.

Nina Fathizadeh, 43, acknowledged that the deaths were a direct consequence of her actions, her attorney, R.J. Manuelian, said. Manuelian said Fathizadeh had previously feared the legal consequences of admitting responsibility.

"She always said she was at fault," Manuelian said.

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San Jose mother-daughter daycare operators speak out after toddlers drown in pool

A mother and daughter who owned a San Jose daycare are speaking out for the first time about two toddlers drowning in their pool.

Fatal drownings

What we know:

Fathizadeh and her mother, Shahin Gheblehshenas, her co-defendant, operated Happy Happy Home Daycare. On Oct. 2, 2023, Payton Cobb of Hollister, 18 months, and Lillian Hanan of San Jose, 16 months, drowned in a pool in the daycare’s backyard.

A 2-year-old child also fell into the pool but survived.

Prosecutors said the three children were unsupervised in a rear patio play area while Fathizadeh was making breakfast. The facility was required to have at least two adults supervising the children, but a daycare worker called in sick that morning.

Authorities said the gate to a 5-foot-tall fence surrounding the pool had been left open.

Charges and additional allegations

Dig deeper:

Fathizadeh and her mother were charged with felony child endangerment resulting in the deaths.

Prosecutors also allege that five weeks earlier, Fathizadeh took seven daycare children to a museum in a vehicle without proper child restraints.

What’s Next

A sentencing hearing for Fathizadeh is scheduled for May 8, according to court records. Gheblehshenas' jury trial began Monday.