Background: News footage of Roxanne Helus at her arraignment (KGTV). Inset: Christian Olvera (Facebook).
A California woman who ran a daycare out of her home has admitted that she let an infant die while under her care.
Roxanne Helus, 49, pleaded guilty in June to several charges in connection with the 2025 death of 5-month-old Christian Olvera. On Monday, Helus was sentenced to six years in prison after being convicted of child abuse and endangerment, involuntary manslaughter, and DUI. In a press release issued at the time of her plea, the San Joaquin District Attorney”s Office said Helus “admitted the aggravating factor that she took advantage of a position of trust and confidence” as someone tasked with the responsibility of watching children.
Prosecutors said Helus was responsible for watching six children on Oct. 22, 2025, including baby Christian.
As Law&Crime previously reported, officers from the Manteca Police Department responded to Helus’ home in the central California city of Manteca, after she said she found that Christian was “not breathing.” When officers arrived, another adult was performing CPR on the baby. The officers noticed that Helus was “intoxicated.”
Christian was taken to a local hospital and later transferred to Oakland Children’s Hospital. He was taken off life support on Oct. 24, 2025. Prosecutors said he died of an anoxic brain injury, which occurs when oxygen is completely cut off from the brain.
According to prosecutors, investigators determined that Helus started consuming alcohol at 4 a.m. on Oct. 22, 2025. Later that morning, she drove two children to school while her blood alcohol content was 0.29%. Helus later had more than $100 of alcoholic beverages delivered to her home while she had several children in her care.
At 11:30 a.m., Helus brought Christian to a travel trailer on her property that was “not an authorized part of the licensed daycare facility.” While in the trailer with Christian, Helus continued drinking. A couple of hours later, the baby had a “medical emergency,” but Helus was too intoxicated to notice.
Local news outlet The Stockton Record was at Helus’ sentencing hearing on Monday, where Christian’s family delivered statements about losing their baby. Christian’s mother, Christina Olvera, reportedly said her other children still asked about their late baby brother. She told the court that Christian’s baby clothes were in a box that they would never open again.
Olvera told Helus, “I will never forgive you,” and “You made choices that took him away forever.”
Helus was sentenced to six years in state prison and was ordered to pay $12,818 to the Victims Compensation Board and $3,327.22 to the families of the other children she was responsible for that day. A judge forbade Helus from operating a daycare or participating in any kind of child care.
