An Ohio mother has been sentenced to life in prison without parole for the tragic death of her 16-month-old daughter, Jailyn.
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Kristel Candelario, 32, left her toddler unattended at home in Cleveland for 10 days while she went on vacation to Puerto Rico and Detroit last summer. She left her with a few bottles of milk, prosecutors said. A neighbor’s doorbell camera captured the 16-month old’s frequent screams, including one around 1 a.m. two days after her mother left.
When she returned more than a week later, she called 911 when she found the child unresponsive in the Pack-N-Play, which had soiled blankets, prosecutors said.
Candelario had dressed Jailyn in a clean outfit before emergency responders arrived, the prosecutor said. But the change of clothes did not hide the horrors the girl had gone through.
The toddler was pronounced dead at the scene.
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Jailyn died of starvation and severe dehydration due to pediatric neglect, Dr. Elizabeth Mooney, the deputy Cuyahoga County medical examiner, said in court Monday. The manner was ruled homicide.
The child was extremely dehydrated and emaciated, weighing 13 pounds, 7 pounds less than in her last doctor’s visit less than two months before, Mooney said.
