A mother in Ohio has been arrested and charged with murder after police say that she left her sixteen-month-old daughter alone in their home for over a week. According to reports, Kristel Candelario, 31, was out of the country on a vacation to Puerto Rico for the duration of that week.
The Cleveland Public Record Center released a statement on the ongoing investigation, explaining exactly what the state of the case is. Officers responded to the scene on June 16 due to disturbances heard by neighbors, and that is when they stumbled upon the ghastly scene of a dead child. Once EMS arrived on the scene, it was already too late, and the one-year-old was pronounced dead.
The release noted that “no signs of trauma were observed” by the Homicide Unit that responded to the scene. The report notes that the child had been left unattended for upwards of ten days, over the course of which she succumbed to lack of care. The report also goes on to name the suspect, saying, “On June 17, 2023, the child’s mother, 31-year old Kristel Candelario, was arrested and charged with Murder. This matter remains under investigation.”
According to NBC News, the child, Jailyn, was left alone in a baby pen with “soiled blankets and a bottom liner, saturated with urine and feces.” According to an affidavit written by Detective Thelemon Powell Jr, Kristel Candelario confessed to her crime, saying that her child was left “at home, all alone and unattended.”
News 5 Cleveland reported on the matter and asked neighbors about the incident. According to one neighbor, this is not the first time that Candelario has left her daughter home alone for an extended duration. The neighbor said, “We keep telling her not to leave her by herself, not just me, my friend across the street too, but she always leave her by herself.”
Candelario was also relieved of her job as an instructional aide at Hope Academy following the incident, with the managing director of communication for the school, Jayah J Watters-Clark, saying, “Based on recent reports regarding charges brought against Kristel Candelario, a building substitute at Citizens Academy Glenville, since November of 2022, we have terminated her employment effective immediately.”
The incident left an even more sour taste for a neighbor who is certain that they or another member of the community would have taken the child in if they were asked to do so. They said, “There were so many people here; she could have knocked on any of our doors and asked us to take Jailyn.”
By all accounts, Jailyn was a sweet girl who was loved by her the community. One neighbor went as far as to say, “Jailyn, she was a happy baby, always smiling, always curious about stuff. She was a wonderful, wonderful baby.”
Featured image: Cuyahoga County Police Department
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