Mother and Girlfriend Charged After Blaming 5-Year-Old Son for 3-Year-Old Sister's Death: Prosecutors

"The day after Sarai’s death, Janae and Ashleigh blamed Janae’s five-year-old son, telling him it was his fault," said Honolulu Police Lt. Deena Thoemmes in a press conference covered by FOX affiliate KHON. Evidence determined he did not hurt her.

On Tuesday, both Janae Perez (top left) and her girlfriend Ashleigh Utley (top right) were indicted on five felony charges, per ABC affiliate KITV, including second-degree murder for the death of Sarai Perez-Rivera, first-degree assault, kidnapping, and two counts of abuse of a family or household member.

They are facing the possibility of life for the murder charge, 20 years for the kidnapping charge, and 10 years for attempted assault.

When police first responded to the couple's home on June 13, 2024, where they lived with Perez's four children, they found Perez-Rivera unresponsive, as detailed by True Crime News.

Thoemmes described the victim as "malnourished and pulseless with ashen skin and bruises to her legs, hips, arms, face, back and head. There were also abrasions and scab wounds on her hand and back."

She was transported to a nearby hospital, where she was pronounced deceased.

The medical examiner in the case listed the girls' cause of death as the "combined effects of dehydration and starvation." She was also described as underweight and small for her age, ranking in just the third percentile, per KHON's reporting.

Additional details of the girls' condition included bruises on her wrist and buttocks, as well as evidence she'd been denied proper use of a toilet and access to hygiene. "These are findings indicative of chronic child abuse and neglect," wrote the forensic pathologist.

This determination led to a further investigation, which revealed disturbing allegations inside the home. Court documents reviewed by KHON revealed details of what investigators uncovered, including testimony from a woman who said she lived with the family for about nine months in 2023.

All of the children in the home were allegedly restricted in their access to food and water, with Thoemmes telling the media the children were only allowed eight ounces of water per day. She said the home "possessed sufficient food supply to their children, but they chose not to."

The woman also told police, per Thoemmes, that both Perez and Utley would "mainly whack the kids with their hands, but also hit the children with sticks and paddles."

She went on to detail one incident when the oldest boy attempted to run away from home. According to the woman who lived with the family, Perez and Utley dragged the boy back inside and beat him.

In her interview, she told authorities that Utley used a long stick and screwdriver to beat the child, while Perez used a short two-by-four to hit him on the legs and arms. She said the other three children watched this unfold from their rooms.

Investigators also found video on the couple's phones of the children being barricaded in their bedrooms, as reported by Hawaii News Now, including one disturbing video of Sarai "crying and in severe discomfort and distress, saying that she had to use the bathroom and that she was thirsty," per Thoemmes.

"In response, Janae repeatedly yelled and swore at her."

In the investigation, police uncovered that the two older boys, 5 and 6 years old, had ben taken out of school, with Perez claiming that she was homeschooling them. All of the children showed signs of neglect and abuse.

One thing noted in KHON's coverage is that under Hawaii lawyer, cases of family abuse are considered a misdemeanor, meaning even the most severe can't be prosecuted often until it is too late. There are bills currently in the legislature to try and change that.

"Child torture is insidious. It is gradual, calculated and systematic, designed to break the victim’s will," said Thoemmes. "Our existing framework does not adequately address those acts of torture, making it difficult to hold offenders accountable. Right now without this law, we are failing the victims."

"It’s horrifying and makes me really angry so it’s one reason that we moved this bill forward to try to catch, to have adequate punishment for people who do horrendous stuff like this," said Senator Karl Rhaods (D) in response to this case.

Former city prosecutor Rafael Renteria told KHON that the "specific charges of torture and starvation are important because it really sheds light on what’s going on in our community and it enables law enforcement to intervene at an earlier stage."

Perez and Utley are currently being held without bail. Perez's three remaining children were removed from the home and are in the care of Child Welfare Services.