Home US Ohio mom Kristel Candelario sentenced to life in prison for leaving toddler to starve to death while she vacationed in Puerto Rico

Ohio mom Kristel Candelario sentenced to life in prison for leaving toddler to starve to death while she vacationed in Puerto Rico

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Kristel Candelario, 32, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after leaving her child to die alone at home while she was on vacation in Puerto Rico for 10 days.

An Ohio mother who let her child starve to death while vacationing in Puerto Rico has been sentenced to life in prison without parole.

Kristel Candelario, a 32-year-old former elementary school employee, pleaded guilty last month to aggravated murder and child endangerment as part of a plea deal with Cuyahoga County prosecutors, who dismissed two counts of murder and one charge of felonious assault.

The charges came after Candelario shared photos of herself posing on a Caribbean beach while enjoying a vacation, while her 16-month-old baby was completely alone at home in Cleveland.

Upon returning from a 10-day trip in June 2023, Candelario found her toddler in her playpen and not breathing.

She called 911 and emergency responders found the child lying in a pile of his own mess and was “extremely dehydrated.” The little child was pronounced dead shortly after their arrival.

Kristel Candelario, 32, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after leaving her child to die home alone while she was on vacation in Puerto Rico for 10 days.

Kristel Candelario, 32, was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole after leaving her child to die home alone while she was on vacation in Puerto Rico for 10 days.

1710897198 470 Ohio mom Kristel Candelario sentenced to life in prison for

1710897198 470 Ohio mom Kristel Candelario sentenced to life in prison for

Kristel Candelario, 32, beamed as she posed on a beach in Puerto Rico in an image posted three days after her daughter’s ten-day abandonment and captioned: “The time we enjoy is the real time lived “.

She pleaded guilty last month to aggravated murder and child endangerment as part of a plea deal with Cuyahoga County prosecutors, who dismissed two counts of murder and a charge of criminal assault.

She pleaded guilty last month to aggravated murder and child endangerment as part of a plea deal with Cuyahoga County prosecutors, who dismissed two counts of murder and a charge of criminal assault.

She pleaded guilty last month to aggravated murder and child endangerment as part of a plea deal with Cuyahoga County prosecutors, who dismissed two counts of murder and a charge of criminal assault.

“Just as you did not let Jailyn out of custody, you should also spend the rest of your life in a cell without liberty,” Judge Sheehan said.

“The only difference will be that the prison will at least feed you and give you some cash that you refused them.”

Candelario, who suffers from depression and related mental health issues, said she prays daily for forgiveness.

“I am in so much pain over the loss of my baby, Jailyn,” she said. “I am extremely hurt by everything that happened. I’m not trying to justify my actions, but no one knew how much I was suffering and what I was going through… God and my daughter forgave me.

An autopsy performed by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the child died of starvation and severe dehydration.

County Common Pleas Court Judge Brendan Sheehan told Candelario she committed “the ultimate betrayal” by leaving her daughter alone without food.

In an image shared three days after her daughter’s 10-day fatal abandonment, she is seen smiling on a white sand beach in sunglasses and a white shirt, which she captioned: “Time to enjoy is the real time lived.”

In another photo taken during her cold-blooded vacation, Candelario wore denim shorts and a Star Wars “Mandalorian” t-shirt as she appeared to visit a Star Wars theme park.

She beamed from ear to ear in the image, despite the horror she later admitted she left behind at her home in Cleveland, Ohio.

Prosecutors said she abandoned Jailyn in her Pack-N-Play enclosure in June 2023, leaving for a trip to Detroit and Puerto Rico.

1710897199 199 Ohio mom Kristel Candelario sentenced to life in prison for

1710897199 199 Ohio mom Kristel Candelario sentenced to life in prison for

In another photo taken during her cold-blooded vacation, Candelario wore denim shorts and a Star Wars “Mandalorian” t-shirt as she appeared to visit a Star Wars theme park.

At the same time she was vacationing in the tropics, her 16-month-old baby Jailyn was lying dead in a pile of her own dirt, and medical examiners determined the little one had died of starvation and severe dehydration.

At the same time she was vacationing in the tropics, her 16-month-old baby Jailyn was lying dead in a pile of her own dirt, and medical examiners determined the little one had died of starvation and severe dehydration.

At the same time she was vacationing in the tropics, her 16-month-old baby Jailyn was lying dead in a pile of her own dirt, and medical examiners determined the little one had died of starvation and severe dehydration.

She made the trips with her eldest daughter and it is unclear why Candelario did not ask anyone to help take care of her child during her trip.

After 10 days of sunbathing on the beach and enjoying local attractions, she returned home on June 16 to find that her daughter was not breathing.

Paramedics and Cleveland police tragically pronounced the 1-year-old dead at the scene, and prosecutors said the child was discovered “on a liner soiled with urine and feces with soiled blankets.

After the shocking autopsy that ruled on her daughter’s condition, Candelario was charged with aggravated murder, two counts of murder, felonious assault and child endangerment.

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley, announcing the plea in February, said, “This case is one of those truly unimaginable cases that will follow me for many years.”

“As prosecutors, our job is to represent victims and today we spoke on behalf of 16-month-old Jailyn – who is no longer with us – due to the selfish decisions made by her mother.

Candelario’s attorneys, Derek Smith and Patrick Milligan, declined to go into details of the plea agreement, according to Cleveland.com.

“It was a very emotional day for our client. She has taken responsibility for what she did and she is remorseful,” Milligan said.

“There will be mitigating issues that will arise at sentencing that we will address. Hopefully people will realize that she’s not the monster some people see her as.

Defense attorneys said Candelario suffered from mental health issues, but declined to provide further information.

The Ohio mom returned from her 10-day getaway to her home in Cleveland, Ohio (pictured) to find that Jailyn was no longer breathing.

The Ohio mom returned from her 10-day getaway to her home in Cleveland, Ohio (pictured) to find that Jailyn was no longer breathing.

The Ohio mom returned from her 10-day getaway to her home in Cleveland, Ohio (pictured) to find that Jailyn was no longer breathing.

1710897200 229 Ohio mom Kristel Candelario sentenced to life in prison for

1710897200 229 Ohio mom Kristel Candelario sentenced to life in prison for

Prosecutors said the child was found dead “on a liner soiled with urine and feces with soiled blankets.”

1710897200 345 Ohio mom Kristel Candelario sentenced to life in prison for

1710897200 345 Ohio mom Kristel Candelario sentenced to life in prison for

A neighbor revealed it wasn’t the first time Candelario left her little girl home alone, saying she would “always leave her alone.”

A neighbor also revealed that this was not the first time Candelario left her little girl home alone.

An acquaintance told News5 Cleveland, “We keep telling her not to leave her alone, not just me, my friend across the street too, but she always leaves her alone.”

Another neighbor, who was not identified, told CNN that Jailyn was “always a happy baby” and was “always smiling.”

The neighbor’s daughter said there were “lots of people” around who could have been watching the baby, saying: “She could have knocked on any of our doors and asked us to take care of Jailyn and we l ‘would have done.’

“When they told us the condition they found her in, I was heartbroken,” the teenage neighbor told CNN.

Candelario previously worked as a substitute in a building at Citizen Academy Glenville, an elementary school in Cleveland.

She had held this position since November 2022, but was fired after her arrest.

The school released a statement announcing his termination, WEWS-TV reported.

According to Child and Family Services officials, there is no record of any previous cases involving Candelario.

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