Mother Who Left Her 16-Month-Old Home Alone For 10 Days While She Vacationed Pleads Guilty To Aggravated Murder

32-year-old Kristel Candelario is an Ohio mother who left her 16-month-old daughter home by herself in a playpen for 10 days last summer. This was while she went on vacation.

On Thursday, Candelario pleaded guilty to aggravated murder.

In addition to that, she also pled guilty to child endangerment as a portion of a plea deal with prosecutors in Cuyahoga County. They agreed to drop two murder counts and a felonious assault charge.

On March 18, Candelario will receive her punishment which could be life in prison.

In June 2023, the mother left her daughter, Jailyn, in their Cleveland residence while she traveled on vacation to Detroit and Puerto Rico. When she went back home 10 days later, she discovered that her child was not breathing in the playpen. She contacted 911, and first responders saw that the child was very dehydrated. The toddler was declared deceased a short time after that.

After an autopsy was conducted, it was found that the 16-month-old had died of starvation and extreme dehydration.