A father has been convicted of the manslaughter of his 16-12 months-conventional daughter who changed into morbidly obese in lockdown and lived in conditions “unfit for any animal”. Kaylea Titford weighed 22st 13 lbs with a body mass index of 70 when she died in October 2020 at her home in Newtown, Powys, where she changed into once found mendacity in soiled clothing and mattress linen, a trial at Mold Crown Court docket had heard.
Her mother Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 39, admittted manslaughter by unpleasant negligence however her father Alun Titford, forty five, denied the offence and stood trial. He changed into once convicted by a jury on Tuesday.
On the outlet of Titford’s trial Caroline Rees KC, prosecuting, said Kaylea had spina bifida, a abet condition, and hydrocephalus, a intention up of fluid on the mind, and conventional a wheelchair from a younger age. She attended Newtown High College, where she changed into once described as “silly and chatty” by employees, however changed into confined to her home after the coronavirus lockdown began in March 2020, Ms Rees said. Kaylea changed into once residing in “squalor and degradation”, she said, and when paramedics found her dead she changed into once mendacity on filthy “pet pads” with maggots and flies on her body and milk bottles crammed with urine round her mattress.
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Ms Rees said: “Kaylea Titford changed into once residing in conditions unfit for any animal – let alone a susceptible 16-12 months-conventional girl who depended fully on others for her care.” Kaylea changed into once grossly obese with soiled and raveled hair, an unwashed body, and ulcerated skin, the court docket changed into once told.
(Picture: Wales Information Provider)
On the morning of October 10, 2020, the court docket heard, a 999 call changed into once made by Titford’s mother sooner than paramedics attended and found Kaylea’s body. Police officers illustrious an “unbearable” rotting odor and maggots crawling on the mattress, the jury changed into once told. The court docket heard that her bedsheets had been soiled and she changed into once mendacity on a number of pet lavatory practising pads. Her room changed into once said to be soiled and cluttered, with bottles of urine and a chip fryer with drips of elephantine down the aspect, in addition to a stout cake in a box.
Ms Rees said: “The prosecution utter that the scene – as witnessed by these that attended – together with the train in which Kaylea’s body changed into once found demonstrate clearly that this susceptible girl, who relied heavily on others for her welfare needs, changed into once severely neglected by no longer appropriate one however each of her fogeys, who owed her a responsibility of care.”
Ms Rees said pathologist Dr Deryk James examined Kaylea and said her bodily train suggested she had no longer been successfully washed in a lot of weeks. He dominated her loss of life changed into once a result of “inflammation and infection in intensive areas of ulceration coming up from weight problems and its complications and immobility in a girl with spina bifida and hydrocephalus”, the court docket heard. Ms Rees said forensic podiatry specialist David Blake found even the easy act of changing Kaylea’s socks commonly looked as if it would had been no longer illustrious. A forensic entomologist told the trial maggots feeding on Kaylea’s body had been at least forty eight hours conventional when examined.
When Titford changed into once interviewed by police he told them he changed into once “no longer a extraordinarily accurate dad” and his wife looked after Kaylea and did the housekeeping, the court docket heard. He said his daughter had outgrown her wheelchair and he did no longer assume he had viewed her out of mattress since sooner than lockdown. Titford told police the household would ranking takeaways, including Chinese and Indian food and kebabs, five nights a week. Requested when he closing asked Kaylea how she changed into once he said: “I didn’t question her. Treasure I utter, I’m no longer the very best of other folks. Nobody ever thinks their child is going to lastly stop up cherish that.” When he gave evidence all around the trial Titford admitted: “I might most likely additionally ranking done more.” Requested all over his evidence why he had let his daughter down so badly the removals worker said: “I’m sluggish.”
The court docket heard that Kaylea had been discharged from physiotherapy and dietetics products and companies in the years sooner than her loss of life and had closing been viewed by a social worker at home in 2017. Titford claimed Lloyd-Jones, who changed into once a community care worker, changed into once responsible for taking care of Kaylea. He said he conventional to rob her to clinical appointments and fancy her however stepped abet when she reached puberty as he changed into once no longer “overjoyed”.
Titford, of Colwyn, Newtown, will most likely be sentenced on March 1. He’ll live on conditional bail till that time and a pre-sentence sage will most likely be applied.
A spokesman for Powys County Council said: “Following the conclusion of court docket court docket cases a concise child practice evaluation is to be applied and will contain all connected companies following a particular statutory framework. The local authority does no longer feel in a position to comment till this process has been performed.”
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