A Santa Clara County judge has shut down an attempt to move one of the women charged in the Happy Happy Daycare drownings into a mental health diversion program, clearing the way for a jury to hear the case next week. The ruling ends another round of defense motions that have slowed the criminal case over the Oct. 2, 2023, backyard pool incident that left two toddlers dead and a third child hospitalized. Family members of the victims sat in court for the hearing and urged the judge not to allow diversion.
According to NBC Bay Area, defense attorney Raffi Manuelian asked Judge Kelley Paul to grant mental health diversion for defendant Nina Fathizadeh, arguing that she has documented PTSD, depression, and anxiety tied to prior trauma, including a house fire and losses during the Iran-Iraq war. Manuelian contended that stressors on the morning of the drownings distorted her sense of time and judgment. The judge denied the request after hearing emotional statements from relatives of the children and arguments from prosecutors. NBC Bay Area reports that both defendants have pleaded not guilty and that a jury trial is scheduled to begin next Tuesday, Feb. 17.
Charges and allegations
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office initially charged the daycare operators with felony child endangerment in connection with the October 2023 drownings. Investigators say the children were discovered in the backyard pool after a gate had been left propped open, according to the DA. Prosecutors later added several misdemeanor counts alleging the defendants transported children without proper car seats, ABC7 reported.
How investigators say it happened
Reporting and court records reviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle state that three children were allowed into a backyard play area next to the pool while adults were not in direct view, and that a family member later found the toddlers floating in the water. The Chronicle and police reports describe staffing issues that morning, including one employee calling out and one owner being at a different site, and neighbors and investigators said they observed potential hazards in the yard. Two of the children were later pronounced dead and a third was hospitalized and revived.
Prosecutors point to prior problems
Prosecutors argued in court that the drownings reflected a pattern of gross negligence and highlighted earlier incidents and the added misdemeanor counts, ABC7 reported. Investigators also recovered a cell phone photo that prosecutors say shows children riding in a moving car without proper restraints, an image they argue underscores unsafe practices at the daycare, according to NBC Bay Area. Deputy District Attorney O’Bryan Kenney told the court the defendants did not do that duty to return children safely to their parents.
State action and civil suits
State regulators suspended the daycare’s license after the drownings, KTVU reported. The families later filed wrongful death lawsuits against the daycare and its operators, according to reporting by KRON via Yahoo, adding a civil fight on top of the criminal prosecution.
What the denial means in court
By refusing to send the case into mental health diversion, the judge ensured that prosecutors will move forward with the criminal charges in front of a jury instead of pursuing treatment-based alternatives. If the defendants are convicted on the most serious counts, they face potential prison terms that could reach into the mid teens in years, depending on which charges and enhancements are proven, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Defense attorneys may still bring additional pretrial motions, and the court calendar remains busy in the run up to the trial…