Toddler suffers 'terrifying' death after mother leaves her behind for vacation

Kristel Candelario, a mother who left her 16-month-old daughter Jailyn Candelario alone in playpen while jetting off for a vacation, has pleaded guilty to aggravated murder, HuffPost reported.

Kristel, whose toddler daughter died while she was away, was sentenced to life imprisonment without parole. Judge Brendan Sheehan, who issued the sentence said: "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."

According to doctors, Jailyn died of starvation and severe dehydration.

Kristel left her toddler "trapped in a tiny prison" while she travelled to Puerto Rico and Detroit last June for vacation with her boyfriend, displaying "the ultimate act of betrayal."

Forensic pathologist Elizabeth Mooney in her statement in court said that "she found faeces on Jailyn's hands and feet, under her fingernails and on her mouth and teeth," and that she suffered "terrifyingly" for a week before she passed away.

Kristel, reportedly left her on June 6 and returned back on June 16, upon seeing Jailyn, she called 911 after cleaning her up.

According to Kristel's defense attorney, Derek Smith, the toddler's mother was suffering from depression and anxiety.

In her remarks at the court, Kristel said; "I am not trying to justify my actions, but nobody knew how much I was suffering and what I was going through."