Viral Video Misidentifies Woman as Mother Who Left Her Child Alone for 10-Day Tour

A video has gone viral with the caption “Mother leaves 16-month-old child alone for 10 days on vacation.” The woman in the video, Valentina Gloria, was hospitalized with severe mental illness when the video was filmed. Both incidents occurred in the United States. In the other incident, the child died tragically, and the mother, Kristel Candelario, was sentenced to life in prison.

The woman in the viral video, who was falsely identified as Kristel Candelario, is actually Valentina Gloria. The video shows several armed men attempting to restrain Valentina Gloria to the bed with chains, her hands and ankles bound with handcuffs. At one point, the woman can be heard screaming.

Dismislab’s reverse image search revealed that the 18-minute, 19-second video is five years old. The incident took place in Arizona, United States. The video  shows security officers restraining Valentina Gloria, a mentally ill patient, to a bed with handcuffs. At the 11:49 mark of the video, she spits on an officer. Valentina was imprisoned for nearly nine months for this incident.

According to a report by the Phoenix New Times, a US media outlet, Valentina suffered from schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, characterized by mood swings, hallucinations, and delusions. In 2019, two more felony charges were filed against Valentina for assaulting prison guards.

Dismislab’s verification confirms that the incident mentioned in the viral video took place last year.

Crystal Candelario, a US mother, left her 16-month-old child home alone for 10 days while she went on vacation. Upon returning home, she found her child motionless and called the police. The police rescued the child and took to the hospital, where the girl was pronounced dead by doctors.

A video surfaced on Facebook on April 19, 2024, with the caption: “A 16-month-old child was left home alone for 10 days by his mother while she went on vacation. Upon returning home, she found the child’s motionless body. The child was pronounced dead. We all demand punishment for such a mother, and some footage of her punishment has been brought to light. I haven’t checked the details. Collected.”

The video was shared by many others with the same caption (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9). Similar claims were also posted on some YouTube channels (1, 2).

One Facebook user wrote: “How dare this woman leave her 16-month-old child alone at home for ten days and go on vacation! I can’t even leave my five-year-old child alone for 30 minutes to chat in the next room. All my hopes for winning the Korean lottery have been dashed with all this fuss about babies. May Allah guide this woman.” Another user commented, “This woman left her 16-month-old child locked in the house and went on vacation for ten days. The child died. See what the punishment is like under foreign law.”

Crystal Candelario was sentenced to life imprisonment in the case. During the hearing, Candelario claimed that she was suffering from mental health issues at the time of the incident. She said, “I have suffered a lot for losing my child, Jelin. I am deeply hurt by what has happened. I am not trying to justify my actions, but no one knew how much I was suffering and what I was going through.”

Some people have commented on Facebook posts that the viral video is not of Crystal Candelario. The user who posted the video responded in the comments section, “Please don’t accuse me of putting up a wrong caption for the sake of views. I was not there, but the video I posted is based on correct incident. If I am wrong, I apologize.”