A Cleveland mother has been charged with murder after police say she left her 16-month-old toddler alone for more than a week while on vacation.
Kristel Candelario revealed to authorities that she went on vacation in Puerto Rico and Detroit while her daughter Jailyn suffered without food or drink.
According to a Cleveland Municipal Court document, Kristel Candelario discovered her daughter Jailyn unconscious at their West 97th Street home last Friday morning. Jailyn was pronounced dead at the scene, with detectives noting that she was “extremely dehydrated.”
Kristel Candelario, reportedly told investigators she went to Puerto Rico and Detroit, leaving home on June 8 and returning on June 16, report says. When she did return home, she found the baby unresponsive.
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Upon further questioning, authorities say Kristel Candelario admitted to going to both Puerto Rico and Detroit for a total of eight days, all while leaving Jailyn alone and without care inside the house. Officials also observed Jailyn’s play bin packed with “soiled blankets and a bottom liner, saturated with urine and feces.”
A neighbor told WOIO that the baby’s grandmother usually cared for the baby, not the mother.
“(The baby’s) mom always wanted to go out and just left her with her grandma and all that,” Suleym Gonzalez said.
Candelario was arrested two days later and appeared in court for arraignment Tuesday morning. She is currently being held in the Cuyahoga County Jail on a $1 million bond, with her next court date scheduled for June 28 at 8:30 a.m.
The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner will rule on Jailyn’s exact cause of death. Her mother’s case is expected to eventually go to a grand jury.
