1-year-old left alone for days as mom vacationed dies, officials say. Mom pleads guilty
A 16-month-old girl died after Ohio officials say she was left alone in a Pack-N-Play for more than a week while her mother went on vacation.
On Feb. 22, 32-year-old Kristel Candelario, of Cleveland, pleaded guilty to one count of aggravated murder and one count of endangering children in connection with her daughter’s death, according to Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael C. O’Malley.
McClatchy News reached out to Candelario’s attorneys for comment Feb. 22 but did not receive an immediate response.
“This case is one of those truly unimaginable cases that will stick with me for many years to come,” O’Malley said in a Feb. 22 news release.
Candelario left her daughter home alone on June 6 to travel to Detroit and Puerto Rico, and did not return until June 16, officials said.
She found her daughter unresponsive when she came home and called police, the prosecutor said.
The toddler was pronounced dead, and an investigation by the Cleveland Division of Police found that the child was “extremely dehydrated at the time of death,” officials said.
The child “was discovered in a Pack-N-Play pen on a liner soiled with urine and feces with soiled blankets,” according to O’Malley.
Candelario was arrested June 19, court records show.
She will be sentenced March 18.
This story was originally published February 22, 2024 at 3:04 PM with the headline "1-year-old left alone for days as mom vacationed dies, officials say. Mom pleads guilty."
