A woman who went on vacation for a week and left her toddler home alone to die has been sentenced to life in prison.
Kristel Candelario, a 32-year-old mother from Ohio, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole on Monday. This verdict followed the tragic death of her 16-month-old daughter, Jailyn, who perished after Candelario left her unattended in a playpen for 10 days while she went on vacation last summer.
Candelario had previously entered a guilty plea to charges of aggravated murder and child endangerment as part of a plea bargain with Cuyahoga County prosecutors. In exchange, two murder charges and a felonious assault charge were dropped.
According to authorities, Candelario left her daughter alone in their Cleveland residence while she traveled to Detroit and Puerto Rico in June 2023. Upon returning home after 10 days, she discovered Jailyn unresponsive in the playpen and promptly called 911. Emergency responders arrived to find the child severely dehydrated, and she was pronounced dead shortly thereafter.
An autopsy conducted by the Cuyahoga County medical examiner’s office concluded that Jailyn died from starvation and extreme dehydration.
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During sentencing, County Common Pleas Court Judge Brendan Sheehan condemned Candelario’s actions as the “ultimate betrayal” and sentenced her to spend the remainder of her life incarcerated. He emphasized the stark contrast between the carelessness Candelario showed her daughter and the basic needs provided to her in prison.
“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. “The only difference will be, the prison will at least feed you and give you liquid that you denied her.”
Candelario, who has grappled with depression and associated mental health issues, expressed remorse for her actions and claimed to pray daily for forgiveness. Despite acknowledging her suffering, she acknowledged the pain caused by her actions and recognized the forgiveness she received from both God and her deceased daughter.
“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.”
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Author: Steven Ertelt
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