In Newtown, Powys, Wales, the parents of a disabled adolescent who died morbidly obese after shocking and prolonged neglect and mistreatment were sentenced to prison for manslaughter.
Kaylea Titford died in October 2020, only a few weeks after turning 16, weighing more than 300 pounds. She was born with hydrocephalus, a fluid buildup in the brain, and spina bifida, a spinal disorder that prevented her from using her legs.
When she died, she was found in a filthy bed, surrounded by trash, with maggots “eating on her flesh” and flies hovering above her head, according to the court.
Kaylea’s parents’ disregard for her basic needs, particularly her nutrition and cleanliness, was so severe that it was considered murder. The defendants did not make a mistake, according to the judge, and criminal negligence occurred over a long period of time.
It is the first time in the UK that parents have been charged with murder for failing to supervise their child’s nutrition and care. Kaylea’s parents, Alun Titford, 45, and Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 40, ignored their daughter’s calls for help and spent more than $1,200 on take-out and soda in the three months before her death.
When asked why he let Kaylea down so badly, her father replied, “I’m lazy.”
The court heard that in the months leading up to Kaylea’s death, Lloyd-Jones turned down numerous offers of medical assistance.
Kaylea would yell and ask for attention, but the court discovered that they her parents would text her to tell her to quit talking. The teenage girl reportedly wrote her mother a bunch of heartbreaking letters in which she begged for assistance cleaning her “leaking legs” and getting rid of flies swarming all over her. Lloyd-Jones responded with a dismissive, “For f*** sake,” instead.
Alun Titford, 45, was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence by the jury. He was sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 40, her mother, pleaded guilty to the same charge in December. She was sentenced to six years in prison.