Mom admits going on 10-day Puerto Rican vacation, leaving toddler home to die of starvation and dehydration in case prosecutor called ‘truly unimaginable’

A 32-year-old mother in Ohio is facing a lengthy stretch of time behind bars for killing her 16-month-old daughter after she left the toddler all alone at home to die of starvation and dehydration while she went on vacation in Puerto Rico.

Kristel A. Candelario formally pleaded guilty on Thursday to one count of aggravated murder and one count of endangering the life of a child in the death of Jailyn Candelario, court documents reviewed by Law&Crime show.

In exchange for pleading to the murder charge, the Cuyahoga County Prosecutor’s Office agreed to drop additional charges Candelario had been facing, including two counts of murder and one count of felonious assault.

Based on the charges she pleaded to, Candelario faces a possible sentence of life in prison on the murder charge and up to 12 years on the child endangerment charge, records show. Candelario will face between 18 months and three years of probation if she’s ever released.

Prosecutors cheered the outcome as a victory for the victim in what was one of the most unseemly cases to come through the office.

“This case is one of those truly unimaginable cases that will stick with me for many years to come,” County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley said in a statement following the plea hearing. “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.”

As previously reported by Law&Crime, officers with the Cleveland Police Department and Emergency Medical Services (EMS) personnel responded to a call at about 8 a.m. on June 16 regarding a dead baby — later identified as Jailyn — in a residence in the 3100 block of West 97th Street. The caller said she was the mother of the child and she came home and found the toddler unresponsive.

She was declared dead, and investigators found no signs of trauma, but Jailyn was extremely dehydrated.

In Jailyn’s Pack-n-Play bin, police found “soiled blankets and a bottom liner,” which they said was “saturated with urine and feces.”

Candelario confessed to leaving her toddler alone while she went on vacation for 10 days, authorities said. The incident report states that by “Candelario’s very own admission,” she revealed that she left Jailyn “at home, all alone and unattended” from June 8 until June 16 “while she was vacationing in Puerto Rico and Detroit, Michigan.”

The toddler’s remains were sent to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy and further examination. The medical examiner determined “the child had been left alone and unattended for approximately 10 days and subsequently died,” officials said.

Candelario is set to appear in court again on March 18 for her sentencing hearing.

Have a tip we should know? [email protected]