Cleveland, OH – A Cleveland mother has been charged with murder after she allegedly left her 16-month-old daughter home alone for over a week while she vacationed in Puerto Rico and Detroit.

According to the Cuyahoga County Sheriff’s Office (CCSO), 31-year-old Kristel Candelario left her toddler alone without a caregiver in their home on West 97th Street from June 8 to June 16, WDIV reported.

When Candelario returned from her eight-day vacation on June 16, she found her 16-month-old daughter unresponsive, according to investigators.

The little girl, identified in court documents as “Jailyn,” was pronounced dead at the scene, WKYC reported.

Investigators said Jailyn was “extremely dehydrated” and that the playpen where she died was filled with “soiled blankets.”

The bottom liner of the playpen was “saturated with urine and feces,” according to police.

The Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office will determine Jailyn’s exact cause of death.

Candelario’s neighbors, identified only as Iris and her 13-year-old daughter, Suleym, said they are “absolutely heartbroken” over Jailyn’s horrific death, WKYC reported.

They said they have taken care of Jailyn on multiple occasions since they first met her in August of 2022.

In that instance, Candelario allegedly asked Iris to watch her daughter for the weekend, but then she took off for more than a month, WKYC reported.

Iris said Candelario would “make excuses” for why she couldn’t come get her child or that she would ignore calls altogether.

“I was the one calling her saying, ‘Look I need milk. I need money. I don’t have money to buy milk for your baby,’” Iris told WKYC. “What am I supposed to do?”

Suleym and Iris said they ended up taking care of Jailyn for about six weeks before Candelario came back.

They said they babysat Jailyn on several more occasions since then, WKYC reported.

“Jailyn really didn’t deserve what happened to her,” Suleym told the news outlet. “She was amazing and really adorable and I miss her a lot.”

Investigators said Candelario confessed to leaving Jailyn home alone, WKYC reported.

She was charged with her daughter’s murder and was booked into the Cuyahoga County Jail on a $1 million bond.

Candelario’s next court hearing is scheduled for June 28.