Ayala, 21, pleaded guilty to felony child endangerment and was immediately sentenced to six years in state prison.

Dressed in a blue jail jumpsuit and shackled hand and foot, she sobbed quietly throughout her court appearance.

Ayala spoke only to answer "guilty" when Superior Court Judge Gordon R. Burkhart asked whether she "willfully and unlawfully" endangered Krystal, who died of heat stroke.

Prosecutors and the defense attorney said the punishment fit the crime.

Police discovered no evidence that Ayala was under the influence of drugs when she left Krystal in the driveway of her mother's home on June 26, said Deputy District Attorney Kennis Clark.

"There was real remorse, she confessed almost immediately," Clark said of Ayala's state of mind. "But there was neglect as well. Most felony child endangerment cases don't result because of intent. She had care and custody of the child . It's tragic because she made bad choices."

The night before her daughter died, Ayala and a friend went to a party, leaving Krystal with the friend's mother. The two women were at the party until almost dawn and Ayala went to her friend's home to sleep, only to be told a couple of hours later that she and her daughter had to leave. A family emergency had developed at the sitter's home, Clark said.

Either Ayala or someone else strapped Krystal into her child seat, Clark said. Ayala drove the short distance to her family's home on Promenade Bordeaux, forgetting that her daughter remained in the back seat. By the time she woke up again at 11:15 a.m. and found Krystal in the car , it was too late.

Defense attorney Julie Scalisi said Ayala will live knowing that she contributed to her daughter's death . In addition to the six year-sentence imposed Friday, Ayala could also face up to five additional years in jail for violating her parole from a previous federal drug conviction. A second conviction is a parole violation.

"This is not the real punishment," Scalisi said after the sentencing. "She is wracked with grief and guilt. It's just a tragedy."

Ayala's brother finds little solace in the sentence. Interviewed Friday, he said his sister should have taken better care of her daughter and finds it hard to forgive her. While other family members have visited Ayala in jail, he said he cannot yet face his sister.

"When people become adults, they have to make adult decisions," said Gustavo Ayala, 17, a Temecula Valley High School student. "She wanted to still be a child . If six years fits the crime, then I'm satisfied. She's going to be in prison thinking about what she did."

Gustavo Ayala keeps his niece's pink blanket on his bed.

Whenever he looks at her handprint, left in wet cement from a remodeling job at the family's home, he thinks of Krystal. He remembers how she bounded toward him when he came home from school each day, how she clamped her arms around his leg. He remembers how she came to his room and danced whenever she heard him listening to music.

"Every time I think of the good memories," he said, "the bad memories come. Then I sit in my room and cry."

Defense attorney Scalisi said Carolina Ayala was working to rebuild her life following the drug conviction.

Ayala knew "she had made some bad decisions" earlier in her life but was "a loving and devoted mom who was doing everything right" in rearing her child , Scalisi said.

"That's what makes this death all the more tragic," Scalisi said.