The parents of an obese British teenager who died at the age of 16 in the family home in particularly squalid conditions were sentenced on Wednesday March 1 to sentences exceeding six years in prison for manslaughter by gross negligence.
Kaylea Titford, 16, was found in conditions described in court as "
unbecoming of any animal
", in soiled clothes and sheets, after her death at the family home in Newton, Wales in October 2020.
The father had described himself as 'lazy'
The teenager then weighed 146 kilos.
Kaylea, who was in a wheelchair, died of inflammation and infection from an ulcer resulting from her obesity and immobility.
His mother, Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 40, was sentenced by a court in Swansea, Wales to 6 years in prison and his father, Alun Titford, 45, received a 7-year sentence and half term of imprisonment.
Kaylea's mother, having pleaded guilty, did not have a trial, unlike her father, who denied the facts.
In court, he explained that he had not taken care of his daughter because he was “
lazy
”.
The young woman lived motionless in soiled sheets, lying on dog mats.
Her room was dirty and cluttered with bottles of urine.
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Emergency services called to the scene on October 10, 2020 described a "
rotten
" smell in the room.
Maggots were found at the scene and experts believe they fed on the body, the trial was told.
The teenager, who attended a high school in Newton before the pandemic, was described by staff as '
funny and talkative
' but never set foot in school again after restrictions were lifted.
According to the prosecution, the young woman, who had not been followed on a dietary and physical level since 2017, did not get out of bed during the pandemic and her wheelchair became too small.
The victim's father claimed that it was Ms Lloyd-Jones, who was a social worker, who had the responsibility of caring for their daughter and that he discharged his role when the teenager reached puberty .
After the verdict and because of the “
abnormally painful
” nature of this trial, the judge offered the jurors access to psychological support services and exempted them from being jurors for the next ten years.
