San Jose teen charged in foster brother’s killing, sexual abuse allegations

Jaxon Juarez was found small, bruised and battered in his crib in San Jose, and Santa Clara County prosecutors now say the 2-year-old’s teenage foster brother strangled him with a hair tie after repeated physical and sexual abuse. The county district attorney’s office filed nine new felony charges, including murder, child assault causing death and multiple sexual-assault counts, in a case that has become one of the most disturbing in the city this year.

Prosecutors say the abuse began after Jaxon was placed with the foster family in February. He was found unresponsive on April 5, 2026, rushed to a hospital in critical condition, and taken off life support on April 9, when he died from his injuries. The suspect was 17 at the time of the alleged killing and has since turned 18. Police arrested him in San Jose, and prosecutors are seeking to move the case from juvenile court to adult court.

District Attorney Jeff Rosen said his office intends to pursue the matter aggressively. “The rape and murder of a child are two of the most serious crimes we can prosecute,” Rosen said. If the petition stays in juvenile court, Rosen said, the defendant could face up to seven years in Secure Track, a locked juvenile facility. If the case is transferred to adult court, the exposure could stretch to many years in prison. A court date reported for May 21 is expected to address a probation recommendation on the transfer request, a process that could take two to three months.

The case has also pulled Santa Clara County’s foster system into the spotlight. County officials said the Department of Family and Children’s Services is conducting its own investigation and has asked the California Department of Social Services to do the same. Rosen said this is the third child in the last several years under county custody who has been killed, a grim pattern that raises the question now hanging over the case: whether warning signs were missed before Jaxon was placed in the home.

Public records and prior reporting have added another layer to that question. The suspect’s mother was identified as Bridget Michelle Martinez, and reports say she had a prior felony child-endangerment conviction in 2014. Jaxon’s aunt, Riley Wallace, has said the family believed the system failed him and had concerns about the placement. As the criminal case moves toward a possible adult-court transfer, investigators are now examining not just what happened to Jaxon, but who else may have overlooked the danger around him.