A judge from the Cuyahoga County Court of Common Pleas in Ohio sentenced Kristel Candelario, 32, to life in prison Monday for leaving her 16-month-old baby alone at home for 10 days to go on vacation. The decision resulted in death of the girl in June 2023.
As The Los Angeles Times recalls, at the time, Candelario opted to go on a trip to Detroit and Puerto Rico. She left her daughter, Jailyn, just 16 months old, at her Cleveland home and went on vacation. Upon her return, 10 days later, she found the child not breathing and called 911. The paramedics, however, could do nothing as they found Jailyn "extremely dehydrated" and despite their resuscitation efforts, a short time later, certified her death.
Authorities, after learning of Candelario's negligence, proceeded to charge her with several counts: one of aggravated manslaughter and endangering a minor, two others of manslaughter and one of aggravated assault. She pleaded guilty to the first of the crimes while the prosecution dismissed the other three remaining charges.
Ohio judge says Kristel Candelario committed ‘the ultimate betrayal’
For that crime, Judge Brendan Sheehan of the Cuyahoga Court of Common Pleas decided to punish the woman with one of the maximum penalties: life imprisonment without the possibility of parole. The judge explained that the sentence was appropriate since Candelario had committed "the ultimate betrayal" by leaving her daughter completely unattended:
Just as you didn’t let Jailyn out of her confinement, so too you should spend the rest of your life in a cell without freedom. The only difference will be, the prison will at least feed you and give you liquid that you denied her.
Candelario tried to justify her behavior by assuring that she has been suffering from depression and mental problems for years. Despite this, she acknowledged that she was guilty of the crime and affirmed that she prayed every day in search of forgiveness for the crime she had committed:
I am in so much pain over the death of my baby, Jailyn. I am in so much pain from everything that happened. I am not trying to justify my actions, but no one knows what I was suffering and what I was going through. God and my daughter have forgiven me.
