Babies must always be watched by an adult. It could be terrible to leave them alone for even a short time. This story breaks my heart so much.
An Ohio woman took a 10-day trip to Detroit and Puerto Rico, but she left her one-year-old daughter at home alone in her playpen. Now, she has admitted that she was guilty of aggravated murder in the death of a child because of what she did.
Kristel Candelario admitted that she put children in danger, which is what killed her daughter Jailyn Candelario. She will spend the rest of her life in jail without the chance of getting out.
“This case is one of those truly unimaginable cases that will stick with me for many years to come,” Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley said. “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.”
It was agreed that Kristel Candelario would take a plea deal in return for dropping two murder charges and one felony assault charge. Judge Brendan Sheehan of Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court will hand down the written sentence on March 18 of next month.
Candelario, who is 32 years old, left her babies alone at home on June 6, 2023. When she got home from vacation on June 16, her daughter wasn’t breathing. After that, she called 911. When firemen from Cleveland got to the scene, they found the child’s dead body on dirty blankets in her playpen and pronounced her dead. The sheets in the room were dirty from pee and poop.
The Cuyahoga County medical examiner’s office found that Jailyn died because she was severely dehydrated and hungry.
Derek Smith and Patrick Milligan, Candelario’s lawyers, said they wouldn’t say anything about the case because she would be sentenced next month.
Milligan told the press, “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.”
Candelario’s lawyers, on the other hand, said she had mental health problems but wouldn’t say anything else. Candelario has never been convicted of a crime before. She is in jail right now with a $1 million bond.