Ajit Karn
British couple was sentenced to prison for manslaughter
London: Wednesday, a British couple was sentenced to prison for manslaughter after their disabled 16-year-old daughter perished at home from pathological obesity in squalor during a time of Covid restrictions.
Kaylea Titford was discovered deceased in her Wales residence in October 2020, weighing 321 pounds (146 kilogrammes) and lying on soiled puppy toilet training pads.
The trial revealed that Kaylea pulled out of school in March 2020, when Wales and the rest of the United Kingdom entered the first coronavirus lockdown, but social services neglected to check on her.
She suffered “a lengthy and prolonged period of criminal negligence” at the hands of her parents, Swansea Crown Court judge Martin Griffiths ruled, describing the case as “horrifying.”
After pleading not guilty, Alun Titford, her 45-year-old transportation worker father, was found guilty of manslaughter by egregious negligence. He served seven years and six months in prison.
Last year, her mother, forty-year-old Sarah Lloyd-Jones, pled guilty to the charge. She was locked up for six years.
The court determined that Kaylea, who had hydrocephalus and spina bifida, had outgrown her wheelchair, but her parents neglected the stench as her body “rotted away alive” from ulcers.
Spina bifida is a congenital disorder that causes spinal and neurological complications. In addition, it can cause hydrocephalus, or the accumulation of fluid on the brain.
Griffiths stated, “At the time of her demise, she was lying in her own filth, encircled by flies that plagued her and maggots that fed on her.”
– ‘Leave no stone untouched’ –
Titford told the court, “I’m indolent,” that he did nothing to care for his daughter. He stated that he ceased providing her with physical care once she attained puberty.
Despite his not-guilty plea, he subsequently admitted in court that he shared equal responsibility for the death of his daughter.
In the hours preceding her death, Titford heard his daughter shrieking, but his only response was a text message demanding she cease.
“He did not go see what was wrong or get her whatever assistance she required,” the judge stated. She was left alone to perish.
Until the first coronavirus quarantine, Kaylee had attended a mainstream school. She was a talented wheelchair basketball player and popular among her peers, according to the police.
The case revealed an absence of supervision on the part of authorities prior to and during lockdowns. Social workers had not seen Kaylee in years, and she had ceased visiting dieticians and physiotherapists.
The judge deemed the case material to be so upsetting that he exempted jury members from future service for 10 years.
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The National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children in Wales stated, “People will question how any child in our society could suffer in this manner without anyone intervening to prevent such a calamity.”
The charity noted that authorities were evaluating the case and urged them to “leave no stone untouched” in their efforts to ensure that other children do not suffer the same fate.
