A mother who allegedly left her 16-month-old baby to die while she was on vacation for eight days was in court this week in Ohio. She is being held on a $1 million bond and is expected to appear in court again June 28.
Court records show that Kristel Candelario, 31, was arrested June 18 in Cleveland and is still an inmate in the Cuyahoga County Jail.
Additionally, Cleveland Municipal Court records cited by News 5 revealed that Candelario told police she left her her daughter, Jailyn, home alone and unattended while she went on vacation to Puerto Rico and Detroit, Mich. When she returned home, she found the infant unresponsive in a Pack N Play portable travel crib that Candelario left her in.
A neighbor said Candelario had already left the bay home alone in the past, according to News 5.
“Jailyn, she was a happy baby, always smiling, always curious about stuff. She was a wonderful, wonderful baby,” said a neighbor who asked not to be identified. They also said people in the neighborhood told Candelario not to leave the baby alone.
“There were so many people here; she could have knocked on any of our doors and asked us to take Jailyn,” said another neighbor.
People in the neighborhood explained that Candelario lived with her two daughters and her parents. Her parents recently went on vacation and took her oldest daughter with them, the neighbors added.
“According to officials with Children and Family Services, there is no record of any previous cases involving Candelario,” said News 5. The outlet also found that she worked at Hope Academy Northcoast as an instructional aide during the 2019-2020 school year and that she worked at Citizens Academy Glenville since the fall of 2020.
“Based on recent reports regarding charges brought against Kristel Candelario, a building substitute at Citizens Academy Glenville, since November of 2022, we have terminated her employment effective immediately,” said Jayah J Watters-Clark, managing director of communications for The Breakthrough Schools, in a statement.
According to 19 News in Cleveland, another mother in the city was sent to jail for the death of her child this month. Timmeka Eggleton, 30, is charged with murder for the death of 3-year-old Curtis Wither.
Related
Related
