A mom has been sentenced after her toddler tragically died when she left her home alone for 10 days.
Last June, Kristel Candelario left her 16-month-old daughter Jailyn unattended while she jetted off to Detroit and Puerto Rico for a vacation, as reported by PEOPLE.
When the 32-year-old returned to the Cleveland home, she found her little one unresponsive and called the cops, who later declared the toddler dead at the scene.
According to the Cuyahoga County prosecutor’s office press release, Jailyn was discovered "in a Pack-N-Play pen on a liner soiled with urine and feces with soiled blankets".
An autopsy by Dr. Elizabeth Mooney, the deputy Cuyahoga County medical examiner, revealed that the toddler died of starvation and severe dehydration from pediatric neglect.
The 16-month-old was also emaciated and weighed "13 pounds, 7 pounds less than in her last doctor's visit less than two months before," per NBC News.
On Monday (March 18), Candelario received a life sentence with no chance of parole. This comes months after she pleaded guilty to aggravated murder and child endangerment as part of a plea deal with Cuyahoga County prosecutors, who dismissed two murder counts and a felonious assault charge.
County Common Pleas Court Judge Brendan Sheehan told Candelario that she committed "the ultimate betrayal" at her sentencing, as cited by ABC News. "Just as you didn’t let Jailyn out of her confinement, so too you should spend the rest of your life in a cell without freedom," he said. "The only difference will be, the prison will at least feed you and give you liquid that you denied her."
When given a chance to speak, the mom - who according to the outlet struggles with depression and other mental health issues, said in response: "There’s so much pain that I have in regards to the loss of my baby, Jailyn.
"I’m extremely hurt about everything that happened. I am not trying to justify my actions, but nobody knew how much I was suffering and what I was going through... God and my daughter have forgiven me," she added.
During the mom's tropical vacation, she took to Facebook to share a chilling picture of herself smiling on a sandy Puerto Rican beach, with the caption: "The time that is enjoyed is the true time lived."
Cuyahoga County prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley spoke about Candelario's "selfishness" at the sentencing, stating: "Today, we remember Jailyn - a beautiful baby girl who was taken from this world due to her mother’s unimaginable selfishness. 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."
Judge Sheehan also noted that authorities and the medical professionals called it one of the most horrible cases they’d ever seen. "It stunned people across this world, because it defies one of the basic human responsibilities," he said, describing it as "the ultimate act of betrayal".
