An 8-year-old California girl died after suffering a devastating asthma attack in a home prosecutors say was contaminated by cockroaches, mold and animal feces for years. Her mother and stepfather now face felony child neglect charges.
The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office said this week that Gabrielle Hanson, 32, and Jacob Randolph, 39, were aware of the hazardous conditions at their San Jose residence. Medical providers and social workers had allegedly warned the couple repeatedly about the danger posed to their seven children.
Even after those warnings, prosecutors allege the couple waited eight hours to seek emergency care when their daughter, Aurora Williams, began showing signs of severe medical distress in May.
“By then, it was too late,” prosecutors said in a news release detailing the charges.
Gabrielle Hanson and Jacob Randolph have been charged with felony child neglect after prosecutors said their 8-year-old daughter died following years of hazardous living conditions and inadequate medical care. (San José Police Department)
In February 2025, more than a year before her death, a relative brought Aurora to an emergency room after she developed asthma symptoms, wheezing and trouble breathing, prosecutors said.
A bug reportedly dropped from her shoe, while another cockroach was seen crawling on her body. Aurora then told hospital staff, “Oh yeah, bugs just crawl on me.”
Medical personnel said the girl smelled of cat urine, looked pale and severely underweight, and told them she was hungry and had not eaten.
San Jose police officers and firefighters were called to the family’s home on May 13, 2026, after receiving reports of a child experiencing a medical emergency.
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Jacob Randolph, 39, was charged with felony child neglect in connection with the death of his 8-year-old stepdaughter, according to the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office. (San José Police Department)
Social workers removed six other children from the home and placed them in protective custody. The children ranged in age from 2 months to 17 years.
Aurora died four days later, prosecutors said.
The medical examiner concluded that Aurora suffered a lack of oxygen to the brain caused by severe asthma and an acute lung injury linked to a viral infection. Medical neglect was listed as a major contributing factor, and her death was classified as a homicide.
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According to prosecutors, investigators determined that Aurora and her siblings had lived in “squalid and dangerous conditions” since at least 2019.
Detectives also found that Aurora’s asthma equipment had not been maintained properly. Her prescribed inhaler was missing during two separate searches of the residence.
Gabrielle Hanson, 32, faces felony child neglect charges after the death of her 8-year-old daughter, Aurora Williams, in San Jose, California. (San José Police Department)
Investigators later located a filthy inhaler spacer with a missing rubber seal meant to keep medication from escaping. They also found cockroaches inside a respiratory mask.
“Another child is needlessly dead in this county, and once again our prosecutors will do everything in our legal power to hold the people who did this responsible,” District Attorney Jeff Rosen said.
“Prosecuting people after this kind of tragedy is necessary – and not enough,” Rosen added. “There are serious questions about how this child and her siblings lived in this dangerous squalor for so long. In the name of this lost child and the others, this community deserves honest answers and real changes.”
The investigation also led to child sexual abuse charges against Aurora’s maternal uncle, Jonathan Hanson, 44, involving another child in the home.
San Jose police and firefighters responded to a home on Lancelot Lane on May 13, 2026, for a medical emergency involving a child who was later declared dead. (Sundry Photography/Getty Images)
Prosecutors charged Jonathan Hanson with two counts of molestation and one count of possessing explicit videos of the alleged victim, who was between 11 and 15 years old at the time of the alleged offenses.
Gabrielle Hanson, the alleged victim’s stepmother, was also charged with knowing about the alleged abuse and failing to intervene, prosecutors said.
All three defendants were arraigned Tuesday.
Gabrielle Hanson and Randolph were released under supervised own recognizance over prosecutors’ objections, while Jonathan Hanson was ordered held without bail.
Their next court appearance is scheduled for Nov. 20 at the Hall of Justice in San Jose.
