An Ohio mom posted a grinning photo of herself on a sunny beach at the same time that her little daughter lay dying in her filthy playpen back home.
Kristel Candelario, 32, pleaded guilty to aggravated murder Thursday for abandoning her 16-month-old daughter, Jailyn, when she jetted off on a 10-day vacation to Puerto Rico in June.
Three days into the trip, the seemingly carefree mom shared a photo of herself mugging for the camera on a sandy beach. When Candelario finally returned to her Cleveland home a few days later, she found her daughter not breathing in her playpen and called 911.
The baby had languished in a pile that “consisted of soiled blankets and a bottom liner, saturated with urine and feces,” an affidavit stated. An autopsy later revealed that Jailyn succumbed to starvation and dehydration.
Candelario pleaded guilty this week to aggravated murder and child endangerment as part of a plea deal that included dropping two additional murder charges and one count of felonious assault.
“This case is one of those truly unimaginable cases that will stick with me for many years to come,” Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O’Malley said Thursday. “This conviction today, is the first step towards justice for Jailyn,” he added.
