The neighbors of a mother, whose 16-month-old baby died after she left him to go on holiday for 10 days, say they are heartbroken and it is not the first time the child has been left alone.
Kristel Candelario, 31, of Cleveland, Ohio, was arrested and charged in the June 18 death of her infant daughter Jailyn while she was allegedly traveling to Detroit and Puerto Rico, according to the affidavit.
Her neighbour, who was not identified, said Jailyn was “always a happy baby” and “always smiling.”
“She was great, she was just a great baby,” the neighbor said CNN.
The neighbour’s daughter said there were “enough people” around to watch the baby and said, “She could have knocked on any of our doors and asked us to look after Jailyn and we would have.” ‘
When Candelario returned to her Cleveland home on West 97th Street on June 16, she found her daughter unresponsive.
“When they told us the condition they found her in, I was heartbroken,” the woman’s teenage neighbor told CNN.
Kristel Candelario, 31, of Cleveland, Ohio, was arrested and charged with the June 18 death of her infant daughter Jailyn while she was reportedly traveling to Detroit and Puerto Rico
The little girl was found unconscious in her playpen when the mother returned home. Her neighbour, who was not identified, said Jailyn was ‘always a happy baby’ and ‘always smiling’
Candelario has been charged with aggravated murder, two counts of murder, felonious assault and child endangerment. Candelario, who took her oldest daughter on vacation, is being held on $1 million bail.
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.
When emergency services arrived at the scene, they stated that the child had died.
“When they told us the condition they found her in, I was heartbroken,” said the woman’s teenage neighbor (pictured). “She could have knocked on any of our doors and asked us to take care of Jailyn and we would have”
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, according to the police statement.
An acquaintance told News5 Cleveland this was not the first time Candelario had left her infant daughter at home alone.
An acquaintance said this was not the first time Candelario had left her daughter at home alone. The mother had taken her eldest daughter on vacation
“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.
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, according to the news outlet.