mugshot Kristel Candelario.
Kristel Candelario is a Cleveland, Ohio, mother who has pleaded guilty on February 22 to an aggravated murder charge for leaving her toddler alone in a playpen for more than a week while she went on vacation.
That’s according to a statement from prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley. The statement says that Kristel Candelario pleaded “guilty to aggravated murder charge for leaving her 16-month-old daughter alone and unattended for more than a week while on vacation.”
The Cuyahoga County prosecutor in Cleveland, Ohio, revealed that Candelario, 32, pleaded guilty in connection with the June 2023 death of Jailyn Candelario. The child died. According to USA Today, Candedlario faces a life sentence.
The medical examiner’s office determined that the toddler died of starvation and dehydration, according to CBS News.
Here’s what you need to know:
The Prosecutor Said the Death of Jailyn Candelario Was ‘Truly Unimaginable,’ Attributing It to Her Mother’s ‘Selfish Decisions’
Ohio woman pleads guilty to the murder of her 16-month-old baby after she left her in a Pack-N-Play pen alone for 10 days.
Kristel Candelario’s daughter Jailyn was found soiled with urine and feces after her mother decided to leave for 10 days on vacation to Puerto Rico.
When…
In a statement, O’Malley slammed Kristel Candelario for making “selfish decisions.”
“This case is one of thos truly unimaginable cases that will stick with me for many years to come,” he said in the statement. “AS prosecutors, it is our job to represent the victims and today we spoke on behalf of 16-month-old Jailyn – who is no longer with us – due to the selfish decisions her mother made. This conviction today, is the first step towards justice for Jailyn.”
On June 6, 2023, the mother left Jailyn “alone and unattended at her residence near Loraine Avenue and West 97th Street in Cleveland,” the statement says.
MugshotKristel Candelario.
“She did not return to her child until June 16, 2023, around 8 a.m. Upon returning, Candelario found Jailyn unresponsive and called the police,” the statement says.
The police and fire departments both responded to the scene and the child was pronounced deceased, the statement says.
Homicide Investigators Determined that Kristel Candelario Went on 2 Vacations, to Detroit & Puerto Rico, While the Child Was Alone, the DA Says
#BreakingNews : Kristel Candelario, 32, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder after she left her 16-month-old daughter home alone in a playpen for 10 days last summer so she could go on vacation.
She now faces a life term and will be sentenced on March 18 in Cuyahoga County…
The homicide unit investigated and determined that Candelario “left her child unattended from June 6 to June 16 to vacation in Detroit, Michigan, and in Puerto Rico,” the statement says.
“Jailyn was extremely dehydrated at the time of death. Jailyn was discovered in a Pack-N-Play pen on a liner soiled with urine and feces with soiled blankets,” the release says.
Candelario pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated murder and one count of endangering children, the release says. She will be sentenced at the Cuyahoga County Justice Center on March 18, 2024, at 9 a.m., it says.
“It is unfathomable that a mother would leave her 16-month-old child alone without any supervision for 10 days to go on a vacation,” O’Malley said in a previous statement obtained by CBS News.
“As parents, we are supposed to protect and care for our children,” O’Malley added, according to CBS. “Imagining this child’s suffering, during her last days of life alone, is truly horrifying and we will do everything in our power to seek justice on her behalf.”
Patrick Milligan, one of Candelario’s attorneys, told Cleveland.com, “This was a real emotional day for our client. She has taken responsibility for what she did, and she is remorseful. There will be mitigating issues that come up at sentencing that we will address. Hopefully, people will realize that she is not the monster that some see her as.” He told the site she has mental health issues but did not elaborate on them.
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