Girl, 8, died of internal bleeding after neighbor set off illegal July 4 fireworks CAKE next to her, prosecutors say

Published: 18:03, 2 July 2026 | Updated: 18:15, 2 July 2026 An Orange County homeowner has been charged with involuntary manslaughter nearly a year after an eight-year-old girl was killed when an illegal Fourth of July fireworks display allegedly malfunctioned during a neighborhood celebration. Earl Decastro, 47, has been charged with involuntary manslaughter in the death of Jasmine Nguyen of Anaheim, California, along with recklessly setting a fire causing great bodily injury and illegally possessing more than 100 pounds of dangerous fireworks.  If convicted on all charges, he faces up to six years in state prison. Prosecutors allege Decastro bought both legal and illegal fireworks for the July 4, 2025, party at his Buena Park home, including a $400 illegal fireworks 'cake' purchased from an unlicensed seller that contained professional-grade explosives requiring a permit or license. According to the Orange County District Attorney's Office, Decastro spent more than an hour setting off fireworks in the street before lighting the illegal device as a grand finale shortly before 9.30pm. Within seconds, prosecutors allege, the fireworks malfunctioned and fired aerial mortar shells into the driveway where guests had gathered to watch the display. Jasmine was sitting beside a covered table holding additional dangerous, unspent fireworks with her mother, Haley Nguyen, her seven-year-old sister and grandmother when the mortars shot into the crowd.  Guests ran into the house, but the unspent fireworks exploded near Jasmine before she could escape. Jasmine Nguyen, eight, died after an illegal Fourth of July fireworks display allegedly malfunctioned during a neighborhood celebration in Buena Park Earl Decastro, 47, has been charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter in the death of Jasmine, along with recklessly setting a fire causing great bodily injury and illegally possessing more than 100 pounds of dangerous fireworks Jasmine suffered multiple internal injuries and was rushed to UCI Medical Center, where she was pronounced dead shortly after arriving.  Several other people, including her grandmother, were also injured. Decastro was arrested days after the explosion on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and later posted $25,000 bail.  'There is nothing accidental about buying and lighting illegal fireworks,' Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said. 'An eight-year-old little girl is dead and the man who killed her is going to be held responsible. A few seconds of fun is not worth a lifetime of trauma and the loss of a beautiful little girl who never had the chance to grow up.' The Orange County District Attorney's Office did not file charges until Wednesday - nearly one year after the fatal blast. The filing comes despite Jasmine's mother previously saying she did not want Decastro prosecuted. 'I'm not pushing for any charges,' Haley Nguyen told the Orange County Register the last week of June. 'It really was an accident.' Nguyen recalled the celebration descending into chaos within seconds. 'It happened so quick. A fun day of friends turns into a nightmare,' she told the Orange County Register. 'Some people were bleeding through their shoes.' She said she initially believed Jasmine would recover after she was taken to the hospital. Jasmine was sitting beside a covered table holding additional dangerous, unspent fireworks with her family when the mortars shot into the crowd, prosecutors allege Guests ran into the house, but the unspent fireworks exploded near Jasmine before she could escape. 'I didn't expect that she would be gone,' Nguyen said. 'I couldn't do anything. I sat for months.' Jasmine was remembered as a joyful, energetic girl who became a familiar face to customers at Greatea, the boba shop her mother opened when she was four years old.  Nguyen closed the business weeks after Jasmine's death, shortly before what would have been Jasmine's ninth birthday. Jasmine was also a member of the dance group 3âm, which shared a video tribute featuring clips of her smiling, laughing and dancing. The family now lives across the street from Disneyland in Anaheim, where the nightly fireworks have become painful reminders of Jasmine. 'The fireworks every night ... it's a little traumatizing,' Nguyen said. 'Before, we loved fireworks. Now I have to wait for them to be done to sleep.' Nguyen said she often watches videos Jasmine uploaded to YouTube so she could hear her daughter's voice. 'We're trying to bring her memories with us and move on slowly,' she said. 'We're trying to find strength.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. 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