A mother from Ohio is facing murder charges in connection with the death of her 16-month-old daughter, who was found dead after her mom allegedly left home alone while she went on vacation, NBC News reports.
Kristel Candelario, a Cleveland native, was arrested on June 18 and charged with the first-degree murder of Jailyn, her 16-month-old daughter. Cleveland police stated in an affidavit that Candelario returned from her trip and found her unresponsive daughter at their home.
The affidavit also states Candelario allegedly told investigators she had left Jailyn "at home, all alone and unattended," while she took a trip to Michigan and Puerto Rico. Once she arrived home, the 31-year-old allegedly found her daughter "extremely dehydrated."
Authorities arrived on the scene and allegedly saw Jailyn's playpen had nothing but "soiled blankets and a bottom liner, saturated with urine and feces," according to the affidavit. Medics pronounced the child dead at the scene while investigators determined she was alone for 10 days.
Emergency responders also said that "no signs of trauma were observed," according to a press release from the Cleveland Police Department. Candelario is being held at Cuyahoga County Jail on a $1 million bond.
This isn't the first time Candelario left her child alone. A neighbor told WKYC Cleveland that the mother asked them to watch Jailyn one weekend in 2022 and left her there much longer than expected. Days had turned into weeks, as the neighbors claimed Calendario wouldn't answer their calls or would "make excuses" as to why she had yet to pick Jailyn up. The neighbor and her child allegedly took care of Jailyn for a month and-a-half and watched her several more times afterwards.
"I was the one calling her saying, 'Look I need milk. I need money. I don't have money to buy milk for your baby.' What am I supposed to do?" the neighbor told the news outlet.
