Ohio mom gets life without parole in death of young daughter, left alone while she went on vacation

CLEVELAND, Ohio (WOIO) - The Ohio mother convicted in the death of her 16-month-old daughter, who was left alone for 10 days while she went on vacation, learned her fate Monday morning.

The judge sentenced 32-year-old Kristel Candelario, who pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and endangering children for the death of her daughter Jailyn, to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

“As a court I have to remember Jailyn, where you did not,” Judge Brendan Sheehan said as he was delivering the sentence. “Just as how you didn’t let Jailyn out of her confinement until she died, so too, you should spend the rest of your life in a cell without freedom. The only difference will be that prison will at least feed you and give you liquids that you denied her.”

Cleveland police previously said Candelario left the baby inside their home on June 6, 2023 while she went to Detroit and Puerto Rico. She found Jailyn unresponsive upon her June 16, 2023 return and called 911.

The state presented evidence during the hearing that Candelario had re-dressed Jailyn before calling 911, among other pieces of evidence.

“Today, we remember Jailyn – a beautiful baby girl who was taken from this world due to her mother’s unimaginable selfishness,” said Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley. “The thought of going on vacation for 10 days and leaving your child to starve to death in her Pack-N-Play is a new low in parental care.”