Ohio woman sentenced to life in prison for starving infant to death at home during vacation | U.S. Crimes

Ann Ohio A woman who left her 16-month-old daughter at home to starve on a 10-day holiday has been ordered to spend the rest of her life in prison.

Christel Candelario, 32, was sentenced Monday in state court. cleveland She previously pleaded guilty to charges of aggravated murder and child endangerment in the death of her daughter Jaylin.

Judge Brendan Sheehan, who handled Candelario's case, said leaving an infant at home and traveling out of state without feeding was the “ultimate betrayal” and merited one of the harshest legal penalties. Then he said.

“Just as you did not release Jaylin from confinement, you should spend the rest of your life in a cell without freedom,” Sheehan said at Candelario's sentencing hearing. “The only difference is that [that] Prison will at least feed you and give you the liquids you denied her. ”

Meanwhile, Candelario told Sheehan that he prayed every day for forgiveness.

“It's so hard to lose our baby Jaylin,” Candelario said. Candelario reportedly suffers from depression and related mental health issues. “I'm very hurt about everything that happened. I'm not trying to justify my actions, but no one knew how much I was suffering and what I was going through.”

Without elaborating, Candelario concluded: “God and my daughter have forgiven me.”

Prosecutors accused Candelario of leaving Jaylin in a playpen at his home on the edge of Cleveland's West Boulevard neighborhood before going on vacation to Detroit and Puerto Rico starting June 6.

A few days after the trip started, new york post Candelario posted a photo on social media of herself smiling on the beach, barefoot and wearing a bathing suit. The caption for the image read, “The time you enjoy is the time you truly lived.''

Candelario did not return home until about 8 a.m. on June 16. She found Jaylin unresponsive on a playpen liner stained with urine and feces, and she called 911. Paramedics arrived and determined Jaylin was “severely dehydrated” and was quickly pronounced dead.

After an autopsy, the local medical examiner's office determined that Jaylin died of starvation and severe dehydration. Authorities have charged Candelario with murder and prosecutors have indicated they reserve the right to seek the death penalty against her.

Candelario pleaded guilty on February 22 as part of an agreement that carries a maximum sentence of life in prison without parole. Prosecutors also agreed to dismiss a related charge of assault with serious bodily injury.

In Monday's ruling, Sheehan gave Candelario the harshest penalty for his guilty plea.

in statement After the hearing, Cleveland Prosecutor Michael O'Malley said Candelario showed “unimaginable selfishness” in killing Jaylin.

“The idea of ​​going on vacation for 10 days and leaving your child in a pack-n-play to starve is the lowest parental care has ever been,” O'Malley said.