It looks innocent enough, at first glance. It is a woman, Kristel Candelario, enjoying some time on a beach. She posted it to her social media with the caption: “The time enjoyed is the time truly lived.” For ten days, Candelario had the time of her life in Puerto Rico.
What you don’t see in the picture is Kristel’s adorable two-year-old daughter, Jailyn. She didn’t arrange for a friend or relative to take care of her little girl… no, she simply left the kid. All alone, in her house. For ten days.
Jailyn died, aged only two. Of hunger, and thirst. Severely dehydrated, confused, terrified, crying for her mama… not understanding why she had been abandoned. As her mother took beach selfies, danced with strangers, drank cocktails and had the time of her life.
A judge convicted Kristel Candelario of a life sentence without parole. As he passed down the sentence, he spoke the following words: “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. The only difference will be, the prison will at least feed you and give you liquid that you denied her.”
