Mother Given Life Sentence After Leaving Toddler Home By Herself For 10 Days While She Went Vacationing

32-year-old Kristel Candelario has been given a life sentence over the death of her toddler. She had left the child at home by herself, in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, for 10 days last summer.

On Monday, Candelario received her punishment of a life sentence without parole. This was for the aggravated murder of her 16-month-old daughter, Jailyn. The toddler died while her mother was gone on vacation in June 2023.

In February, Candelario entered a guilty plea for one count of aggravated murder in relation to the death of her toddler and one count of endangering children.

From June 6 to June 16, 2023, Candelario left her daughter alone in her home in Cleveland. When she got back at about 8 a.m., she discovered her daughter unresponsive and contacted authorities. The child was pronounced deceased at the scene. Jailyn was found in a “Pack-N-Play pen on a liner soiled with urine and feces with soiled blankets.”

It was determined that the child died from starvation and severe dehydration from pediatric neglect. When the child died, she was 13 pounds, 7 pounds less than when she went to the doctor two months prior.

During an investigation, it was learned that Candelario had gone to Detroit and Puerto Rico for a vacation as she left the child by herself. On June 17, she was apprehended and charged with murder and other offenses.

“There’s so much pain that I have in regards to the loss of my baby, Jailyn. 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,” Candelario, who battles with depression and other mental health issues, stated.

Reports indicate that after her apprehension last year, Candelario was fired from her job as a substitute at an elementary school.