Mum who left baby alone in playpen for 10 days to go on holiday guilty of murder
A mum who left her toddler alone for 10 days while she went on holiday has pleaded guilty to a serious murder charge.
Kristel Candelario, 32, left her 16-month-old daughter, Jailyn, at home in a playpen for ten days last summer while she went on holiday. She pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and child endangerment on Thursday. As part of a deal with Cuyahoga County prosecutors, two murder charges and a felony assault charge were dropped. Candelario could now spend the rest of her life in prison when she's sentenced on March 18.
Officials said that Candelario left her daughter at their Cleveland, Ohio home while she went on holiday to Detroit and Puerto Rico in June 2023. When she came back 10 days later, she found her daughter wasn't breathing in the playpen and called 999.
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A mum is likely going to spend a long time in jail after neglecting her toddler and leaving her in a play pen for 10 days (WKYC)The emergency team found the little girl was "extremely dehydrated," and sadly, she died shortly after they arrived. A post-mortem by the Cuyahoga County medical examiner's office found that the toddler had died from starvation and severe dehydration.
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"This case is one of those truly unimaginable cases that will stick with me for many years to come," said Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley.
"As prosecutors, it is our job to represent the victims and today we spoke on behalf of 16-month-old Jailyn — who is no longer with us — due to the selfish decisions her mother made. This conviction today is the first step towards justice for Jailyn."
Kristel Candelario, 31, of Cleveland, Ohio pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and child endangerment (No credit)"The 16-month-old child was extremely dehydrated at the time of death. The 16-month-old child was discovered in a Pack-N-Play pen on a liner soiled with urine and faeces with soiled blankets," prosecutors added.
Candelario's lawyers, Derek Smith and Patrick Milligan, didn't want to discuss the details because of next month's sentencing. "This was a real emotional day for our client," said Milligan.
The mum was led into the courtroom in handcuffs before she admitted her guilt (WKYC)"She has taken responsibility for what she did, and she is remorseful. There will be mitigating issues that come up at sentencing that we will address. Hopefully, people will realise that she is not the monster that some see her as."
The lawyers mentioned that Candelario had mental health problems but didn't give more information. Candelario had never been found guilty of a serious crime before. She is still in jail, with bail set at $1 million.
Neighbours said that the little girl was often left alone, despite offers to babysit when the mother had to go out. "She was wonderful; she was just a wonderful baby," an unnamed female neighbour said.
Court documents show the woman entered into a plea deal that will likely send her to jail for most of her life (Clevland Municipal Court)The neighbour's daughter said there were 'plenty of people' around to have watched the baby, saying: "She could have knocked on any of our doors and asked us to take care of Jailyn, and we would have."
"We keep telling her not to leave her by herself, not just me, my friend across the street too, but she always leave her by herself," said another neighbour.
The infant was discovered in a Pack-N-Play pen soiled with urine and feces and was extremely dehydrated at the time of death (WKYC)Candelario worked as an instructional aide and her last jobs include positions at Hope Academy Northcoast and Citizens Academy Glenville since the fall of 2020.
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Jayah J Watters-Clark, managing director of communications for The Breakthrough Schools said she has been terminated and an investigation opened into whether this behaviour extended to her job or affected any families.
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