Mum left baby alone in playpen for 10 days so she could go on holiday

Kristel Candelario, 32, left her 16-month-old daughter Jailyn in a playpen at their Cleveland home on June 6, 2023 so she could go on holiday to Detroit and Puerto Rico.

When she returned a week and a half later, on June 16, she found her daughter unresponsive and called 999, NBC News reports.

Emergency services found the toddler in the playpen "extremely dehydrated." Jailyn died shortly after they arrived, with a post mortem concluding the 16-month-old had died from starvation and severe dehydration.

On Thursday (February 22), Candelario pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and child endangerment.

She will be sentenced on March 18 and could spend the rest of her life behind bars.

Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley said: "This case is one of those truly unimaginable cases that will stick with me for many years to come.

"As prosecutors, it is our job to represent the victims and today we spoke on behalf of 16-month-old Jailyn - who is no longer with us - due to the selfish decisions her mother made. This conviction today is the first step towards justice for Jailyn."

Prosecutors said that the child had been found in the playpen "on a liner soiled with urine and faeces with soiled blankets."

Speaking on Thursday, one of the lawyers for Candelario, Patrick Milligan, said: "This was a real emotional day for our client.

"She has taken responsibility for what she did, and she is remorseful. There will be mitigating issues that come up at sentencing that we will address. Hopefully, people will realise that she is not the monster that some see her as."

Milligan said his client had mental health problems, but didn't elaborate.

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