An Ohio mother pleaded guilty to aggravated murder after leaving her 16-month-old daughter home alone in a park for 10 days last summer so she could go on vacation.
Kristel Candelario, 32, now faces a life sentence and will be sentenced March 18 in Cuyahoga County Magistrate Court in Cleveland.
He also pleaded guilty to child endangerment as part of a plea deal with Cuyahoga County prosecutors, who agreed to dismiss two counts of murder and one count of felony assault.
The 32-year-old mother was arrested and charged with the death of her infant daughter, Jailyn, while she was reportedly traveling to Detroit and Puerto Rico in June of last year.
“This case is one of those truly unimaginable cases that I will remember for many years,” Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said in announcing the guilty plea Thursday.
Kristel Candelario, 32, pleaded guilty to murder after leaving her 16-month-old daughter home alone in a park for ten days last summer so she could go on vacation.
Candelario now faces life in prison and will be sentenced March 18 in Cuyahoga County Magistrate Court in Cleveland.
The 32-year-old mother was arrested and charged with the death of her infant daughter, Jailyn, while she was allegedly traveling to Detroit and Puerto Rico in June of last year.
‘As prosecutors, it is our job to represent victims and today we speak on behalf of 16-month-old Jailyn, who is no longer with us due to the selfish decisions her mother made. “This sentencing today is the first step towards justice for Jailyn.”
Prosecutors said Candelario returned to her Cleveland home on West 97th Street on June 16, 2023, and discovered her daughter had not been breathing.
The Cleveland Police Division and Cleveland Fire Division responded to the scene and pronounced Jailyn dead shortly after arrival.
‘The 16-month-old boy was extremely dehydrated at the time of his death. “The 16-month-old child was discovered in a Pack-N-Play pen on a liner soiled with urine and feces and with soiled blankets,” prosecutors added.
An autopsy performed by the Cuyahoga County Coroner’s Office determined the boy had died of starvation and severe dehydration.
Candelario was charged with aggravated manslaughter, two counts of murder, criminal assault and child endangerment.
He also pleaded guilty to child endangerment as part of a plea deal with Cuyahoga County prosecutors, who agreed to dismiss two counts of murder and one count of felony assault.
Prosecutors said Candelario returned to her Cleveland home on West 97th Street on June 16, 2023, and discovered her daughter had not been breathing.
Candelario’s attorneys, Derek Smith and Patrick Milligan, declined to go into details about the plea deal, according to Cleveland.com.
‘This was a really emotional day for our client. She has taken responsibility for what she did and is remorseful,” Milligan said.
‘There will be mitigating issues that will arise at sentencing that we will address. Hopefully, people will realize that she is not the monster that some see her as.
Defense attorneys said Candelario suffered from mental health problems but declined to provide more information.
It is unclear why Candelario did not ask anyone to help her take care of her daughter while she traveled with her eldest daughter.
DailyMail.com previously reported that this was not the first time Candelario left her daughter home alone, according to a neighbor.
An acquaintance told him 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 “always smiling.”
Candelario was charged with aggravated murder, two counts of manslaughter, criminal assault and child endangerment.
The neighbor’s daughter said there were “a lot of people” around to take care of the baby and said, “She could have knocked on any of our doors and asked us to take care of Jailyn and we would have done it.”
“When they told us what condition they found her in, I was heartbroken,” the teenage neighbor told CNN.
Candelario had previously worked as a construction substitute at Citizen Academy Glenville, an elementary school in Cleveland.
She had held that position since November 2022, but was fired after her arrest. The school issued a statement announcing her dismissal, WEWS-TV reported.
According to Children and Family Services officials, there is no record of any previous case involving Candelario.