CLEVELAND (WWJ) - An Ohio mother will spend the rest of her life behind bars with no chance of parole after she left her toddler to die alone at home while she vacationed in Detroit and Puerto Rico.
Kristel Candelario, 32, of Cleveland had pleaded guilty last month to aggravated murder and child endangerment in a plea deal with prosecutors. In exchange, two two murder counts and a felonious assault charge were dismissed.
As reported by Mlive, County Common Pleas Court Judge Brendan Sheehan told Candelario she committed "the ultimate betrayal" in June 2023 when she left her daughter, Jailyn, in a playpen for 10 days while she went on vacation.
Authorities said Candelario went to Detroit and Puerto Rico and she returned home a week and a half later, she found her daughter unresponsive in the pen.
Candelario called 911, but when first responders arrived to the home, they found the young child "extremely dehydrated" and a short while later pronounced her dead.
The Cuyahoga County medical examiner's office said the 16-month-old died of starvation and severe hydration.
The judge handed down Candelario's life sentence, likening her punishment to her crime.
"Just as you didn't let Jailyn out of her confinement, so too you should spend the rest of your life in a cell without freedom," Sheehan said via Mlive. "The only difference will be, the prison will at least feed you and give you liquid that you denied her."
Candelario stated she felt remorse over her daughter's death and had prayed for forgiveness. She says at the time, she struggled to manage her depression and other mental health issues.
"There's so much pain that I have in regards to the loss of my baby, Jailyn," she said. "I'm extremely hurt about everything that happened. I am not trying to justify my actions, but nobody knew how much I was suffering and what I was going through ... God and my daughter have forgiven me."
