San Jose couple charged in 8-year-old girl's asthma-related death
A San Jose couple was charged with child neglect after squalid home conditions and delayed medical attention led to their daughter's death in May, the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office said Tuesday.
Identified as Aurora Williams, San Jose police said she was found unresponsive at a Lancelot Lane home on May 13. Williams, the DA's office now says, had been suffering from an asthma attack and was in serious medical distress for eight hours before her parents sought medical help.
The DA identified the girl's mother as 32-year-old Gabrielle Hanson and her stepfather as 39-year-old Jacob Randolph.
Williams was eventually taken to the hospital but died four days later. The DA said her cause of death was determined to be lack of oxygen stemming from 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," the DA said.
The DA described conditions in the home as "squalid," stating it was infested with cockroaches, mold, and littered with garbage and pet feces. There were six other children in the home at the time, aged 2 months to 17, who have since been put into protective custody.
According to the DA, Williams previously visited an emergency room in February. During that visit, staff, the DA said, saw a bug fall from her shoe and a cockroach crawling on her, which prompted the girl to tell staff that, "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," the DA said.
After her death, investigators found the girl's asthma equipment in the home and stated it was not properly maintained and that a respiratory mask was found with cockroaches, the DA said.
Hanson and Randolph have their next court date on Nov. 20. Both were released under supervised own recognizance after their arraignment on Tuesday.
Hanson also faces an additional charge in connection with a child sexual abuse case involving her 44-year-old brother, which was uncovered during the investigation into Aurora Williams' death, the DA said.
Child sexual abuse investigation
The DA's office said Jonathan Hanson, 44, faces two counts of molestation and one count of possessing child sexual abuse material of the victim, who was between 11 and 15 years old at the time of the crimes.
Gabrielle Hanson, the victim's stepmother, is believed to have known about the abuse and allegedly did nothing to stop it, the DA said. She now faces charges in both cases.
Jonathan Hanson was also arraigned on Tuesday and was remanded with no bail allowed.
