Woman who let her baby die after traveling to island pleads guilty

Crystal Candelario, the Ohio woman accused of leaving her 16-month-old daughter on vacation in Puerto Rico last summer, causing the child to die of malnutrition, has pleaded guilty to aggravated murder.

The 32-year-old mother left the little girl home alone for 10 days on vacation in Detroit and the Island, only to find her lifeless when she returned.

As part of a plea deal with Cuyahoga County prosecutors, Candelario also pleaded guilty to child endangerment. The deal includes two counts of murder and one count of felonious assault.

The woman now faces life in prison when she is sentenced on March 18.

Authorities have said Candelario left her daughter Jaylyn at her Cleveland home while she went on vacation to Detroit and Puerto Rico in June 2023. When she returned 10 days later, the child was taken to the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner where she was pronounced dead.

An autopsy performed by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office determined the girl died of starvation and severe dehydration.