A Nevada mom who worked for child protective services killed her two toddlers in separate bathtubs. Now a judge has given her the only sentence that fits.
Jovan Trevino told her 4-year-old son she had a surprise — a pair of glasses that would help him see better underwater. Once the boy was face-down in the bathtub, she held him there until he stopped moving. Then she walked to the master bedroom and drowned his 1-year-old sister in a second tub.
On Tuesday, a Clark County judge sentenced Trevino, 38, to life in a Nevada state prison with no possibility of parole for the July 2021 murders of Christopher Fox III, 4, and Gihanna Fox, 1. By pleading guilty to two counts of first-degree murder, Trevino avoided the death penalty.
“Itruly was not in the right mind — in the darkest place I’ve ever been, which is evident by the horrific crime I did commit.”— Jovan Trevino, at sentencing
Chief Deputy District Attorney John Giordani called Trevino’s actions “unforgivable” and told the court it was the most extreme filicide case he had seen in 15 years of prosecution. Prosecutors described the killings as among the most horrific in recent Nevada history.
Adding to the disturbing nature of the case: Trevino worked as a family services assistant for the Clark County Department of Family Services — the very agency charged with protecting vulnerable children.
After the murders, Trevino wrote a suicide note and fled to Arizona. She was eventually taken into custody at a medical center in Bullhead City after allegedly telling hospital staff what she had done.
Key facts in the case
- Murders occurred on July 19, 2021, in Clark County, Nevada
- Trevino worked for Clark County’s child welfare agency at the time
- She lured her son into the tub using toy glasses as a distraction
- Each child was held underwater for approximately 3–4 minutes
- Trevino fled to Arizona before being arrested at a hospital
- She pleaded guilty to avoid the death penalty
The children’s grandmother addressed Trevino directly in court with words that left the room silent. “I hope you see their little faces every time you close your eyes,” she reportedly said, “and I hope you never forgive yourself for stealing their futures.”
Defense attorney Ryan Bashor argued his client had been under “extreme life stressors” — including a deteriorating relationship with the children’s father, Christopher Fox Jr. Fox previously testified that Trevino had expressed suicidal ideation just days before the killings, telling him she felt she “couldn’t leave the kids here without her being there with them.”
“Iwill remember your case forever.”— District Judge Carli Kierny, to Trevino at sentencing
District Judge Carli Kierny told Trevino that while she could sense genuine grief in the defendant, no other outcome was appropriate. “I know that as you live out the rest of your life in a jail cell, you’ll probably see them at night, you’ll think of them,” the judge said. “That’s really the only tribute left that you can give them at this point.”
Before closing the hearing, Judge Kierny delivered a final, chilling line — one that underscored just how far outside the bounds of ordinary tragedy this case fell: “I will remember your case forever.”
