An Ohio mother who left her young daughter for dead shared cruel snaps from her vacation as her baby suffered in misery in her park.
Kristel Candelario, 32, now faces life in prison after pleading guilty to the aggravated murder of her daughter Jailyn, but she seemed less concerned when she flew to Puerto Rico.
In an image shared three days after her daughter’s fatal 10-day abandonment, she is seen smiling on a white sand beach wearing sunglasses and a white shirt, which she captioned: “Time enjoyed is truly time lived “.
At the same time, her 16-month-old baby lay dead in a pile of his own filth, and the Cayuhoga County Medical Examiner’s Office determined that the child had died of starvation and severe dehydration.
In concluding his plea deal this week, prosecutors described his actions as “one of those truly unimaginable cases that will stay with me for many years.”
Kristel Candelario, 32, smiled as she posed on a beach in Puerto Rico in an image published three days after her daughter’s ten-day abandonment and which she captioned: “The time enjoyed is the true time lived.”
In another photo taken from her cold-blooded vacation, Candelario donned jean shorts and a Star Wars ‘Mandalorian’ T-shirt while appearing to visit a Star Wars theme park.
At the same time as their tropical vacation, their 16-month-old baby Jailyn lay dead in a pile of her own filth, and medical examiners determined the little girl had died of starvation and severe dehydration.
In another photo taken from her cold-blooded vacation, Candelario donned jean shorts and a Star Wars ‘Mandalorian’ T-shirt while appearing to visit a Star Wars theme park.
She smiled from ear to ear in the picture, despite the horror she later admitted to leaving behind at her home in Cleveland, Ohio.
Prosecutors said he abandoned little Jailyn in her Pack-N-Play pen in June 2023 and went on a trip to Detroit and Puerto Rico.
She made the trips with her oldest daughter and it is unclear why Candelario didn’t ask anyone to help take care of her daughter while she traveled.
After 10 days of sunbathing on the beach and enjoying local attractions, she returned home on June 16 to find her daughter was not breathing.
Paramedics and Cleveland police tragically pronounced the one-year-old boy dead at the scene, and prosecutors said the child was discovered “in a urine and feces lining of soiled blankets.”
After the shocking autopsy that ruled on her daughter’s condition, Candelario was charged with aggravated manslaughter, two counts of murder, criminal assault and child endangerment.
The two murder charges and the felony assault charges were dropped in his plea deal this week, in exchange for pleading guilty to aggravated murder and child endangerment.
Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley, announcing the statement Thursday, said, “This case is one of those truly unimaginable cases that will be with me for many years.”
‘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.”
Candelario, 32, now faces life in prison after pleading guilty to aggravated murder and endangering his young daughter.
The Ohio mom returned from her 10-day excursion to her home in Cleveland, Ohio (pictured) to find Jailyn not breathing.
Prosecutors said the boy was found dead “on a lining of urine and feces with soiled blankets.”
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.
A neighbor also revealed that this was not the first time Candelario left her young daughter alone at home.
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.”
A neighbor revealed that this was not the first time Candelario left her young daughter alone at home, stating that she would “always leave her alone.”
In concluding his plea deal this week, prosecutors described his actions as “one of those truly unimaginable cases that will stay with me for many years to come.”
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 his dismissal, WEWS-TV reported.
According to Children and Family Services officials, there is no record of any previous case involving Candelario.