Mother, 31, charged with murder after she ‘left her 16-month-old daughter home alone for TEN days
An Ohio woman is charged with the murder of her 16-month-old daughter after she left the toddler home alone for 10 days to go on vacation and discovered the child had died on her return.
Kristel Candelario, 31, was arrested and charged with the June 18 death of her infant daughter Jailyn while she was allegedly traveling to Detroit and Puerto Rico, according to the affidavit. NBC news reported.
When Kristel came back to her Cleveland home on West 97th Street on June 16, she found her daughter unresponsive.
Speaking through an interpreter, Candelario admitted to investigators that she left her baby “at home, all alone and unattended,” and found that her daughter was reportedly “extremely dehydrated,” according to the affidavit.
Authorities claimed her daughter’s playpen was filled with “dirty blankets and underpants, saturated with urine and feces,” according to an affidavit.
Kristel Candelario, 31, of Cleveland, Ohio has been arrested and charged for the death of her 16-month-old daughter, Jailyn Candelario, after leaving her child alone in her home for ten days
Jailyn Candelario was reportedly left alone for more than a week and died as her mother traveled to Detroit and Puerto Rico, according to the affidavit
When emergency services arrived at the scene, they stated that the child had died.
It is unclear why Candelario did not ask anyone to take care of her child during her journey.
Officials said Thursday that Candelario never arranged anything for her infant daughter before she left.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examination Bureau said there were “no signs of trauma” but revealed the child was left alone for about 10 days and then died, as per a police statement.
Local residents were shocked when they heard the news. Many said they had cared for the toddler before and wished Candelario had asked them for help. People reported.
A 13-year-old who knew the child said she was “amazing and really cute.”
“Jailyn really didn’t deserve what happened to her,” they said. “I miss her very much.”
Another resident remembered the child as “always cheerful.”
Jailyn, she was a happy baby, always smiling, always curious about things. She was a great, great baby,” they said.
An acquaintance told News5 Cleveland this was not the first time Candelario had left her infant daughter at home alone.
“We keep telling her not to leave her alone, not just me, also my friend across the street, but she always leaves her alone,” the person said.
The Cleveland Ohio home on West 97th Street where baby Jailyn was left unattended for ten days
Candelario pictured with an officer during arraignment
The police report detailing Candelario’s crime
Candelario had previously worked as a construction stand-in at Citizen Academy Glenville, an elementary school in Cleveland.
She had held that role since November 2022, but was fired after her arrest. The school issued a statement announcing her resignation, WEWS-TV reported.
According to Children and Family Services officials, there are no records of previous cases involving Candelario, the news outlet said.
She is currently being held at the Cuyahoga County Jail on $1 million bond. It is not immediately known whether she has engaged a lawyer or whether she has entered a plea.
Her next scheduled hearing is June 28 at 8:30 am.