Parents who left 23-stone daughter, 16, to die in her own filth have their jail sentences increased

Prison sentences for parents who left their 23-stone disabled daughter to die in her own filth have received an increased prison sentence.

Kaylea Titford, 16, was found in conditions described as ‘unfit for any animal’, in dirty clothes and bedding, following her death at the family home in Newtown, Powys, in October 2020.

Her mother Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 40, was originally sentenced to six years in prison, while her father, Alun Titford, 45, was previously told he would face seven and a half years behind bars in March for grossly negligent homicide.

The couple spent more than £1,000 on takeaway meals and fizzy drinks in the three months before their daughter’s death, but failed to keep her clean and ignored her pleas for help.

On Friday, Lord Justice Popplewell, sitting with Ms Justice McGowan and His Honorable Judge Bate, said at the Court of Appeal: ‘The circumstances can only be categorized as extreme, Kaylea lived in unimaginable misery.’

William Emlyn Jones KC, Representative of the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), said: ‘The combination of the duration of the neglect, the nature of the victim’s long-term suffering, the extent of the victim’s vulnerability and the absolute dependence from her parents for care, and ultimately the appalling conditions in which she was left to live and eventually die, this is a crime that falls within the definition of ‘extreme.’

Lewis Power KC and David Elias KC, representing Lloyd-Jones and Titford respectively, both argued that the original sentences were ‘well placed’.

Lloyd-Jones, watching via video link, was unmoved when her prison sentence was increased to eight years, while Titford was not present to hear his sentence increased to 10 years.

Mr Emlyn Jones said the original sentences were ‘excessively lenient’, concluding they failed to reflect ‘guilty, the seriousness of the crime and the seriousness of the aggravating features’.

Lord Justice Popplewell said Kaylea was in “very much pain, misery and distress” and was “utterly humiliating” despite being frail.

Mover Titford, who had denied manslaughter by gross negligence, told jurors at his trial that he had let his daughter down so badly because he was “lazy” and left his partner to care for her.

Care worker Lloyd-Jones, who had six children with Titford, had previously admitted the same charges.

She sent messages begging for help, telling him in one message, “I’m absolutely exhausted, I can’t work and do everything… all I’ve done is cry all day.

“I need you to help me.”

Swansea Crown Court heard at Titford’s trial that the teenager weighed 22nd 13lb, with a BMI of 70, at the time of her death in October 2020.

Kaylea, who had spina bifida and used a wheelchair, died after inflammation and infection from ulcers, due to obesity and immobility.

In her final hours, as she lay screaming in bed, her father texted her twice to stop, but he didn’t go to her.

Kaylea had also sent a series of text messages to her mother begging for help to clean the weeping sores on her legs and remove the flies that landed on her, Lloyd-Jones replied, “For f*** sake. ‘

Emergency workers, who were called to the house after she was found dead, described feeling sick due to a “putting” smell in her room, as maggots fed on her body.

The teen’s specially adapted room was dirty and cluttered, with bottles of urine next to her bed and dog poop in the ensuite bathroom.

The family subsisted on takeaway food four or five nights a week and had spent more than £1,000 on meals in the months leading up to her death.

Kaylea attended Newtown High School, where she was described as “funny and chatty” by staff, but she did not return following the Covid lockdown in March 2020.

At Titford’s trial, the jury was presented with evidence, including footage and bodycam footage from the inside of Kaylea’s home in Newport.

They showed a messy and dirty interior of the house with dirty clothes, a bottle of urine, a catheter on the floor and insect infestations.

A police officer filming the bodycam footage in Kaylea’s bedroom can be heard gagging as he records the state of her living conditions.

The prosecution described the conditions as “misery and degradation.”

The court heard that Kaylea’s mother was responsible for most of her care after she hit puberty, as Titford said he stepped back because he wasn’t “comfortable.”

Her father, Titford, of Colwyn, Newtown, was a full-time mover, working 40 to 50 hours a week and 15 days just before Kaylea’s death.

He denied the charges and was found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence after a trial earlier this year.

It was the first hearing in Wales to be filmed since the law was changed to allow cameras in criminal courts for the first time last year.

In a post-conviction statement from Dyfed-Powys Police, Kaylea Titford’s family said they were “incredibly saddened” by her death.

They said, “As a family, we are incredibly saddened by Kaylea’s death. While we appreciate the support we have received, we now ask for privacy and time to process our loss.”

Detective Chief Inspector Jon Rees of Dyfed-Powys Police described the investigation into Kaylea Titford’s death as “traumatic and difficult.”

He said: ‘The circumstances in which Kaylea was found were beyond comprehension, and the impact of what they saw and experienced will be long lasting for the officers and paramedics who were present.

“It is heartbreaking to think that Kaylea was able to go to school just months before her death.

“While we have done everything we can to get justice for Kaylea, nothing can take away the loss of a teenage girl who was so abandoned by the people who should have cared for her.

“Once again I would like to thank the officers and staff of Dyfed-Powys Police and other agencies for their dedication and professionalism during this traumatic and difficult investigation.”

A spokesman for NSPCC Cymru said: ‘This is an incredibly distressing matter.

Kaylea Titford’s deliberate, long-term neglect by her parents, Sarah Lloyd-Jones and Alun Titford, ultimately caused the teen’s death.

“People will wonder how a child in our society can suffer like this without anyone stepping in to prevent such a tragedy.

“The forthcoming Child Safeguarding Practice Review should leave no stone unturned to determine what more could have been done to protect Kaylea so that other children do not suffer unnoticed from such appalling neglect.”