Ohio mom who abandoned her baby to go on a 10-day vacation gets life without parole: 'The ultimate betrayal'



An Ohio mother went on a 10-day summer vacation in June 2023. Rather than bring her 16-month-old daughter Jailyn along, Kristel Candelario, 32, decided instead to leave the baby behind to fend for herself in a dirty playpen.

Jailyn died a slow, painful death, losing nearly half her body weight before succumbing to starvation and dehydration.

The victim's cruel and callous mother pleaded guilty on Feb. 22 to one count of aggravated murder and one count of endangering children.

The Associated Press reported that Candelario claimed at her sentencing Monday that God and Jailyn have forgiven her. She received no such forgiveness from County Common Pleas Court Judge Brendan Sheehan.

"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," Sheehan said Monday. "The only difference will be, the prison will at least feed you and give you liquid that you denied her."

The Cuyahoga County Prosecutor's Office indicated that Candelario left Jailyn alone and unattended at her home near Lorain Avenue and West 97th Street in Cleveland on June 6, then went gallivanting around Detroit and Puerto Rico. According to Assistant Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Anna Faraglia, Candelario had also left the baby alone for two days immediately before going on the vacation.

Candelario eventually made her way back home on June 16. Upon finding her baby dead and emaciated, the child-killer called police.

First responders found Jailyn "in a Pack-N-Play pen on a liner soiled with urine and feces with soiled blankets."

Candelario was subsequently arrested and held on a $1 million bond. She initially pleaded not guilty to charges of aggravated murder, murder, felonious assault, and endangering children.

During the trial, Derek Smith, the child-killer's attorney, attempted to paint his client as an emotionally overburdened single mother of two who was "not thinking clearly." The attempt was wasted on all those confronted with the facts in court.

Dr. Elizabeth Mooney, the deputy Cuyahoga County medical examiner, testified in court Monday that the child weighed 20 pounds at her last doctor's visit in late spring. When Jailyn's body was recovered, it weighed 13 pounds, reported NBC News.

Mooney said Jailyn's death was "one of the most tragic and unfortunate cases I've had in my career thus far," noting that the baby likely suffered for an entire week before passing away.

Investigators indicated that Candelario attempted to mask the consequence of her actions, changing Jailyn's clothes just before first responders arrived. They nevertheless observed the feces in the baby's eyes and under her fingernails.

"The thought of this child dying every day while she's having fun — humanity can't stomach that," said Faraglia. "And those are the actions that need to be punished. She abandoned her daughter and left her for dead."

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor Michael O'Malley said in a statement that Jailyn was "a beautiful baby girl who was taken from this world due to her mother's unimaginable selfishness."

"The thought of going on vacation for 10 days and leaving your child to starve to death in her Pack-N-Play is a new low in parental care," added O'Malley.

Court TV reported that Faraglia asked the court to consider jail phone calls in which the child-killer allegedly indicated she had a "blast" while on vacation in Puerto Rico and made plans for what she might do when freed from prison.

Faraglia stressed that Candelario appeared unrepentant, quoting the child-killer as saying, "It's not like I did it intentionally. It's not like I picked up a gun or a bat or the girl bled."

The judge said when sentencing the child-killer in the death penalty state, "The bond between a mother and child is one of the purest and most sacred bonds between human beings. It's a relationship based on love, trust and unwavering protection. Yet, in a shocking betrayal of fundamental trust, you committed the ultimate act of betrayal, leaving your baby terrified, alone, unprotected to suffer what I heard was the most gruesome death imaginable."

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'You're not safe': Maryland woman warns TikTok followers of shady white van in possible abduction attempt



A woman in Maryland posted a video to TikTok in late October to warn her followers about a shady white van that stopped next to her twice while she was jogging with her dog.

Fox News Digital reported that the woman, who wished only to be identified as Jenn, was jogging outside around 2:00 p.m. on a somewhat rural road when a white van ominously pulled up next to her on the wrong side of the road. And then the van traveled off.

@lenderqueen

So this just happened: I was running with my dog and this van pulled up slowly beside us and drove off slowly toward town. I start running home and instead of turning down my street for some reason (thank god) I kept going straight and the same van comes flying around the corner with the rear sliding door open. I jumped the ditch and as I did they slammed the door shut while the van was still moving. This leads me to believe that there was someone in the back of the van as well. I started filming as fast as I could and you can see them coming to a stop in front of me, sitting for a minute then speeding off. *If you watch the video frame by frame from 0:14 to 0:16 you can see the guy in the back seat look back at me right before they speed off. Not a delivery driver.* I called the police and reported it to the State Police. This happened at 2:30 in the afternoon in a neighborhood most people consider to be very safe. The world is a dangerous place and there are some horrible people out there. Keep your head on a swivel because this kind of thing can happen anywhere, to anyone. Also, I’m sorry for the cursing and heavy breathing in the video, I was running and scared. #selfdefense #humantraffickingawareness #publicsafety #womensafety @Killer Bee Tactical

Jenn said she always runs on the side of the road where vehicles are coming toward her. "So," Jenn says, "I get off the side of the road, and this is a very remote stretch. In hindsight, I realize it was not safe, and I don't run any more outside. So, I get off the side of the road, the van slows down, and ... they're driving slowly past me."

Upon realizing what the van was doing, Jenn ran to the other side of a drainage ditch and started recording. The van appeared to stop in the middle of the road, near what appears to be a small intersection.

"I got this bad feeling," Jenn said.

After the alarming encounter, Jenn started running home. However, on her way back, the white van reappeared, and this time it was traveling faster than the time before. She said she could see the rear sliding door of the van open as it approached her.

"This time it's driving fast. And that's the first thing I registered was, 'Oh, s**t, that's the van. Oh, s**t. They're going fast.' As they turn the corner, the back door is open. I can see into the rear of the van. I can see the interior from the sliding door that's open," she said.

Jenn jumped over the drainage ditch again. The sliding door apparently slammed shut, and the van took off for the final time. She said she believed there was someone else in the van other than the driver.

Jenn said she immediately called the police after the strange encounter, and then a neighbor stepped outside to check on her.

"Every week I've called [the police]," she said. "The farthest that we've gotten is they ran the tags, which initially came back to a leasing company out of Florida, which had leased the van to another leasing company, which had leased the van to a company in Delaware."

"Some guys run the business, and they have been subpoenaed to find out who was actually driving the van and why. That was 2½ weeks ago. But that was the last update I've gotten."

Jenn concluded: "Let's not let our kids walk around these neighborhoods alone. Let's not let our kids walk themselves home from the bus stop unattended, even with a couple of kids."

"As far as women are concerned, a message for women and the public is: Be prepared. Don't keep your head down. Don't be oblivious. Don't tell yourself that you're safe, because you're not. … And that's great if you're lucky, but you're not safe in the world. And that's OK. It just is what it is."

The Maryland State Police shared with Fox News Digital that they were informed "about this inquiry ... but uncovered no evidence of a crime at this time."

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Jury convicts yoga teacher who murdered pro cyclist in jealous rage, fled country, then got nose job to evade justice



Kaitlin Armstrong, 35, tried desperately to avoid accountability for gunning down pro cyclist Anna Moriah Wilson in May 2022. The Austin woman fled to Costa Rica, got a new nose, and changed her hair. All of her efforts were in vain.

American officials caught the fugitive with help from Costa Rican authorities, then dragged her back to face justice, which was meted out this week despite a last-ditch escape effort.

A Texas jury convicted Armstrong Thursday of murder.

What's the background?

Blaze News previously reported that Wilson, a Vermont native and world-class cyclist, was in Austin on May 11, 2022, to compete in a cycling race. Hours before her slaying, she went out for a bike ride and a meal with Colin Strickland, a fellow cyclist and former boyfriend. Strickland also happened to be an on-again, off-again boyfriend of Armstrong's.

Strickland told the Austin-American Statesman that he and the victim "had a brief romantic relationship from late October-early November 2021 that spanned a week or so while Wilson was visiting Austin. At the time, she and I had both recently ended relationships. She returned to her home in California and about a month later, Kaitlin Armstrong and I reconciled and resumed our relationship."

Strickland stressed that his subsequent encounters with Wilson were "platonic and professional."

Surveillance video captured Armstrong's black Jeep Grand Cherokee pull up to the residence where Wilson was staying just moments after Strickland had dropped her off following their purportedly platonic get-together.

CNN indicated that prosecutors detailed during Armstrong's trial how she had access to Strickland's texts and also had used a geolocation app to track Wilson.

In addition to poring over the victim's social media profile in the days leading up to her trigger pull, she also made note of Wilson's address.Authorities later learned that not long before the slaying, Armstrong had acquired a firearm and expressed fury upon learning Strickland had been romantically involved with Wilson.

Police later found the cyclist bleeding out from gunshot wounds. She was pronounced dead at the scene, three days before she was scheduled to compete in the 157-mile Gravel Locos bike race.

Prosecutor Rickey Jones told the jury, "The last thing Mo did on this Earth was scream in terror."

Surveillance footage caught the sound of the victim's screams, "followed by pow! Pow! Two gunshots – one to the front of the head, one to the side of the head that hits the index finger as it passes. You won't hear any more screams after that," said Jones.

Armstrong sold her vehicle two days after Wilson's death for $12,200, according to the U.S. Marshals Service. It appears her sale of the SUV was not just a matter of ditching evidence but getting enough cash to flee the country.

The fugitive

Days after her initial questioning by police, Armstrong flew from Austin to Houston, then took another flight to New York's LaGuardia Airport. Armstrong then flew to San José, Costa Rica, via Newark Liberty International Airport using her sister's name and passport.

According to investigators, Armstrong blew $6,000 on a nose job in Costa Rica, changed her hairstyle and hair color, and altogether attempted to lay low, passing time as a yoga instructor, reported the Associated Press. The killer also used various aliases while moving around the region.

After 43 days on the run, the U.S. Marshals Office of International Operations, Homeland Security Investigations, and the Department of State Diplomatic Security Service, working with Costa Rican authorities, tracked down the killer to a hostel on Santa Teresa Beach in Provincia de Puntarenas.

Armstrong was arrested on June 29, 2022, then deported on July 2 to the United States, where she pleaded not guilty to the charge of first-degree murder.

Despite her arrest, Armstrong's days of running were evidently not over.

On Oct. 11, corrections officers were escorting Armstrong to a doctor appointment when she decided to run once more, reported the Associated Press. Travis County Sheriff spokesman Kristen Dark said the killer made it over a block away before deputies caught up with her.

Armstrong faces a separate felony escape charge for this attempt.

Guilty

After two hours of deliberation Thursday, a Texas jury determined that Armstrong was guilty of first-degree murder. The yoga teacher, who will be sentenced Friday, faces a maximum sentence of 99 years in prison.

Wilson's family and friends cried and embraced upon learning the verdict.

Wilson's mother, Karen Wilson, told the court her daughter had been destined to "live and move and shine and listen and laugh and be such a unique person," reported ABC News.

The victim's father, Eric Wilson, likened her death to a living nightmare, noting, "I think about it every night. If I do sleep, when I wake up, it's the first thought on my mind. I live with it every day."

Matthew Wilson, the victim's brother, told the court, "My sister had her life taken from her for no reason at all."

"She'll never ride a bike again; she'll never take a 20-minute break from work to bake banana bread in her kitchen; she'll never get married; she'll never buy a home; she'll never have kids; she'll never meet someone that she loves, and ... my parents will never be able to see that happen, to see her enjoy her life," said Matthew Wilson.

Reaction after Kaitlin Armstrong found guilty of murdering Moriah Wilsonyoutu.be

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19-year-old who killed her dad over a missed hair appointment faced possibility of life in prison, but a lenient judge has cut her loose



A Michigan woman who killed her father for allegedly failing to get her to a hair appointment could have faced life in prison. Instead, she has been cut loose with time served and five years' probation.

According to prosecutors, Megan Joyce Imirowicz, 19, of Michigan was upset with her 64-year-old father, Konrad Imirowicz, because he was unable to drive her to a hair salon appointment ahead of her 18th birthday party, having become intoxicated, reported the Oakland Press.

Imirowicz threw lye powder and water on her father while he slept in their Groveland Township home, northwest of Detroit, on Oct. 1, 2021. The killer's friends later found the victim lying on a couch with catastrophic chemical burns.

Prosecutors indicated that Megan Imirowicz's friends notified her of Konrad Imirowicz's injuries over the phone, but that she scoffed and hung up, reported Law & Crime.

The victim was taken to Ascension Genesys Hospital several hours after the attack.

While Konrad Imirowicz survived his daughter's initial attack, the damage was extensive. He had to have both legs amputated, underwent a tracheotomy and skin grafts, and suffered from various infections as well as kidney failure.

After months of agony, he succumbed to his injuries, dying on March 6, 2022.

Megan Imirowicz, reportedly jailed following her father's death, denied throwing chemicals on him, claiming instead she had thrown bread at him to wake him up.

On June 15, she was convicted of unlawful possession or use of harmful devices causing death, for which she potentially faced life in prison, reported the Daily Mail.

Instead, Judge Victoria Valentine sentenced her Tuesday to one year in jail, with credit for 506 days served, followed by five years of probation.

The Oakland Press indicated that Megan Imirowicz will have to undergo a psychological exam, drug testing, and a review in court six months into her probation, as well as wear an electronic tether.

Chief Assistant Prosecutor David Williams told the Oakland Press, "This was not the sentence we advocated for, however the judge ultimately decides what sentence will be imposed."

Imirowicz told CourtTV with a smile, "I was praying for a miracle today and that's what I got," adding she "got really lucky" having Valentine has the judge presiding over her case.

After freely walking out of the court house, the killer reportedly went out for nuggets and fries.

Alleged-Father Killer Breaks Down in Tears After Jury's Stunning Verdictyoutu.be

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Convicted killer Orlando Hall executed for kidnapping, raping, and burying Texas teen alive



Convicted murderer Orlando Hall, found guilty of kidnapping, raping, and burying a teenage Texas girl alive in 1994, has been put to death.

He was the 8th federal inmate executed by the U.S. government since the Trump administration resumed capital punishment this year after a 17-year hiatus.

What are the details?

Hall, 49, died of lethal injection shortly before midnight on Thursday following a nearly 6-hour delay, after several last-minute filings— including to the U.S. Supreme Court — were unsuccessful in stopping the execution that took place at the federal prison in Terre Haute, Indiana.

In 1994, Hall was part of a marijuana trafficking ring in Arkansas. One night, a drug deal fell through, leading Hall and four accomplices to drive to the Texas home of a man they suspected of stealing $4,700 from the operation.

CNN reported:

The man's 16-year-old sister, Lisa Rene, was home and refused to let them inside, the statement said. Although she had no connection with the drug transaction, the men broke into the apartment, kidnapped her at gunpoint and fled in a car to an Arkansas motel.

Rene was repeatedly raped in the car and at the motel. When Hall realized she knew too much, the statement said, he and his accomplices took her to a park where they had dug a grave. They beat her with a shovel, then buried her alive, according to the statement.

Lisa Rene was an honor student who had dreams of becoming a physician.

According to The Washington Post, the Office of Solicitor General asked the Supreme Court to allow Hall's execution to proceed.

The filing read:

The public and the victim's family have an overwhelming interest in implementing the capital sentence recommended by a jury a quarter-century ago against petitioner, who perpetrated a heinous series of crimes against a child, has had notice that he faces execution for the past 25 years, and has been able to file a clemency petition for the past 13 years.

Hall never denied his involvement in Rene's death, according to his attorneys. In his final words, he reportedly asked witnesses in attendance on his behalf to tell his children that he loved them, and expressed his gratitude to those who had supported his family during his incarceration.

Federal Execution of Orlando Hall www.youtube.com

Anything else?

Attorney General William Barr announced last year that federal executions would begin again in 2020, after none had been carried out since 2003. But they may soon be put to end.

While President Trump is currently contesting the results of his race against Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, the Trump campaign carries the burden of proof in their claims that widespread voter fraud occurred at a scale that flipped the election to Biden — who has been roundly declared the projected winner by mainstream media.

Biden has vowed to end the death penalty upon taking office. The Washington Examiner pointed out that Biden's campaign website stated that he would "work to pass legislation to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level, and incentivize states to follow the federal government's example. These individuals should instead serve life sentences without probation or parole."