Shanya Robins: NJ Mom Seeks Answers After Son Dies at Daycare

An Empty Chair in Hillsborough: A Mother’s Fight for Answers After Her 4-Year-Old Son Dies at Daycare

Four-year-old Yasmir’s cerebral palsy never kept him from lighting up a room. Shanya Robins recalls how everyone who saw him knew instantly that he was always smiling. That bright presence is now missing from his Hillsborough home, leaving his mother to demand answers from the facility where he spent his days since he was just four months old.

On August 14, the Blooming Hearts Child Development Center called Robins after 11:42 a.m. to report that her son was unresponsive. She rushed to the facility, arriving around 12:05 p.m., only to find him still seated and limp in a chair. According to legal representation and local reporting by CBS News New York, that critical window of time lacked any emergency outreach.

Records Show 29 Minute Gap Before Emergency Call

Fallon Stephenson, the attorney representing Robins, reviewed available records and pointed out a stark discrepancy in the facility’s emergency response. Based on those records, CPR was not performed, and no call to 911 was placed for approximately 29 minutes while the child sat unresponsive.

Audio recordings from the 911 call placed after Robins arrived capture a different version of events from the caller on site. The caller states that staff told Robins they were calling 911, and that Robins instructed them not to because she was coming. Robins directly disputes that account of the phone call. Despite emergency intervention efforts following her arrival, Yasmir ultimately died at the hospital, as confirmed by the Somerset County prosecutor’s office.

Prosecutor Continues Investigation as Daycare Owner Declines Comment

The Somerset County prosecutor’s office confirmed that police were dispatched to the daycare center, though officials have stated that the investigation remains active and ongoing with no further information to release at this time. When CBS News New York visited the daycare, a woman identifying herself as the owner declined to comment, and subsequent inquiries directed to her attorney went unanswered.

Stephenson noted that understanding from the available details indicates Yasmir unfortunately became unresponsive while he was being fed. For Robins, the absence of her son casts a long shadow over daily life. Every morning and every night serves as an inescapable reminder that her child is gone, leaving an agonizing gap in a family that had known him only as a joyful, unstoppable presence.