The dad and mom of a disabled lady who died after turning into morbidly overweight have been jailed over her manslaughter.
Kaylea Titford had simply turned 16 when she died in her house in Powys, weighing greater than 22 stone.
At Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday, her father Alun Titford, 45, was sentenced to seven years and 6 months in jail.
He had been discovered responsible of gross negligence manslaughter after a three-week trial in Mold Crown Court in February, having beforehand denied the cost.
Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 39, Kaylea’s mom, earlier admitted manslaughter and was jailed for six years.
Follow newest response to sentencing of Kaylea Titford’s dad and mom
Handing down his sentence, Mr Justice Griffiths mentioned: “Kaylea Titford made a success of her life.”
He added that she was an “accomplished wheelchair user who was competitive in national wheelchair sports”.
“Everything she could do for herself she did, but she died just after her 16th birthday,” he added.
Mr Justice Griffiths mentioned Lloyd-Jones and Titford had “caused her death by shocking and prolonged neglect over lockdown”.
He added that it was “obvious that she [Lloyd-Jones] was failing” and that Titford had “ignored…the evidence of his own eyes and nose that she (Kaylea) was not getting the care she needed”.
“His long hours at work are not an excuse, he liked working, he did not like helping”, including that Titford “could and should have done more to help, and ask others for help”.
‘Horrifying case’
Mr Justice Griffiths mentioned it was Lloyd-Jones’s “duty” to just accept assist however “she did not take up” any of the gives from exterior businesses.
This was not a lapse, concluded Mr Justice Griffiths, it was a “long and sustained period of criminal negligence”.
There was “no attempt to control her [Kaylea’s] diet, she could only eat what she was given”.
“It was perfectly obvious… that Kaylea was morbidly and dangerously obese,” he added.
He mentioned it was “a horrifying case, a case of sustained neglect, leading to the death of a completely dependent… disabled child at the hands of her own parents”.
“Both defendants completely neglected to get the help that Kaylea needed, and sometimes it was ignored when offered.”
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Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police attended Kaylea’s house on 10 October 2020, after her household reported her demise.
Kaylea had lived with hydrocephalus and spinabifida since beginning however had acquired mainstream schooling and is claimed to have been a gifted wheelchair basketball participant.
Police say the circumstances during which they discovered Kaylea have been “abhorrent”, indicating “shocking neglect over a prolonged period of time, both environmentally and physically”.
‘Difficult to take care of’
The police investigation concerned the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in addition to medical, dental and environmental consultants.
Iwan Jenkins, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS Cymru Wales, advised Sky News that “cases of this nature are difficult to deal with”.
“They involve proving that someone has neglected to undertake their duty which is something they haven’t done rather than proving they have done something,” he added.
“The level of that neglect was important in this particular case, establishing the length of time, the deterioration that had happened which led to the untimely death of Kaylea.
“No youngster ought to must face the horror of what she needed to undergo throughout her time previous to her demise.
Mr Jenkins added that instances of an analogous nature to Kaylea’s “would upset anybody”.
“They are difficult cases to deal with, and when you see a child who is lost as a result of a failure of someone to care for them, that obviously is distressing and is in need of professional and committed approaches from those responsible within the criminal justice system, to ensure that justice is done for those who suffer at the hands of people who should know better.”
Source: information.sky.com”