Kaylea Titford: Father jailed for more than 7 years over obese daughter’s manslaughter – as mother gets 6 years
The parents of a disabled girl who died after becoming morbidly obese have been jailed over her manslaughter.
Kaylea Titford had just turned 16 when she died in her home in Powys, weighing more than 22st.
At Swansea Crown Court on Wednesday, her father Alun Titford, 45, was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison.
As it happened – live updates from court as Kaylea Titford’s parents jailed
He had been found guilty of gross negligence manslaughter after a three-week trial in Mold Crown Court in February, having previously denied the charge.
Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 39, Kaylea’s mother, earlier admitted manslaughter and was jailed for six years.
Handing down his sentence, Mr Justice Griffiths said: “Kaylea Titford made a success of her life.”
Prosecutors said Kaylea was living in conditions ‘not fit for any animal’
He added that she was an “accomplished wheelchair user who was competitive in national wheelchair sports”.
“Everything she could do for herself she did, but she died just after her 16th birthday,” he added.
Mr Justice Griffiths said Lloyd-Jones and Titford had “caused her death by shocking and prolonged neglect over lockdown”.
He added that it was “obvious that she [Lloyd-Jones] was failing” and that Titford had “ignored…the evidence of his own eyes and nose that [Kaylea] was not getting the care she needed”.
“His long hours at work are not an excuse, he liked working, he did not like helping”, adding that Titford “could and should have done more to help, and ask others for help”.
‘Horrifying case’
Mr Justice Griffiths said it was Lloyd-Jones’s “duty” to accept help but “she did not take up” any of the offers from external agencies.
This was not a lapse, concluded Mr Justice Griffiths, it was a “long and sustained period of criminal negligence”.
There was “no attempt to control her [Kaylea’s] diet, she could only eat what she was given”.
“It was perfectly obvious… that Kaylea was morbidly and dangerously obese,” he added.
He said it was “a horrifying case, a case of sustained neglect, leading to the death of a completely dependent… disabled child at the hands of her own parents”.
“Both defendants completely neglected to get the help that Kaylea needed, and sometimes it was ignored when offered.”
Read more:
Emergency crews felt ‘physically sick’
Conditions ‘unfit for any animal’
‘Rotting flesh’
Officers from Dyfed-Powys Police attended Kaylea’s home on 10 October 2020, after her family reported her death.
Kaylea had lived with hydrocephalus and spinabifida since birth but had received mainstream education and is said to have been a talented wheelchair basketball player.
Police say the conditions in which they found Kaylea were “abhorrent”, indicating “shocking neglect over a prolonged period of time, both environmentally and physically”.
‘Difficult to deal with’
The police investigation involved the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) as well as medical, dental and environmental experts.
Iwan Jenkins, deputy chief crown prosecutor for CPS Cymru Wales, told Sky News that “cases of this nature are difficult to deal with”.
Iwan Jenkins, Deputy Chief Crown Prosecutor for CPS Cymru Wales.
“They involve proving that someone has neglected to undertake their duty which is something they haven’t done rather than proving they have done something,” he added.
“The level of that neglect was important in this particular case, establishing the length of time, the deterioration that had happened which led to the untimely death of Kaylea.
“No child should have to face the horror of what she had to go through during her time prior to her death.
Mr Jenkins added that cases of a similar nature to Kaylea’s “would upset anybody”.
“They are difficult cases to deal with, and when you see a child who is lost as a result of a failure of someone to care for them, that obviously is distressing and is in need of professional and committed approaches from those responsible within the criminal justice system, to ensure that justice is done for those who suffer at the hands of people who should know better.”
Rory McIlroy has completed a career Grand Slam in golf with his win at the US Masters tournament.
The Masters was the last major tournament left for McIlroy to complete the modern golf Grand Slam – a feat only five others have managed before him.
McIlroy, who was making his 11th attempt at completing the Grand Slam, faced off Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to decide the Masters champion, after they finished tied on 11 under at the end of regulation on Sunday.
McIlroy reacts as he wins. Pic: AP
McIlroy reacts after winning against Justin Rose at the Masters. Pic: AP
“It’s my 17th time here and I started to wonder if it would ever be my time,” McIlroy said just before slipping on the Green Jacket during the presentation ceremony.
“I’m just absolutely honoured and thrilled and just so proud to be able to call myself a Masters champion.”
McIlroy had missed his six-foot putt for par, a bogey which dropped him back to 11 under, where he joined Rose – leading to a dramatic play-off between the two.
Only five other golfers have been able to complete a career Grand Slam, including Tiger Woods, Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player, Ben Hogan and Gene Sarazen.
Pic: AP
McIlroy is a two-time winner of the PGA Championship, claiming the prize in 2012 and 2014.
The 35-year-old also won his first major title, the US Open, in 2011, and won The Open Championship in 2014.
How did McIlroy get to the victory?
McIlroy recovered from losing his overnight two-shot advantage with an opening-hole double bogey to initially take control at Augusta National, only to blow a four-shot lead over his closing six holes.
The world No 2 bogeyed the last to close a one-over 73 and slip back to 11 under alongside Rose, who overturned a seven-stroke deficit and posted a stunning final-round 66 to force a play-off.
The players returned to the 18th for the play-off, where McIlroy made amends for his 72nd-hole blunder by firing a stunning approach to within three feet of the pin and making the birdie putt required for a life-changing win.
UK
Race to keep British Steel furnaces running with last-minute efforts to secure raw materials under way
Last-minute efforts to keep British Steel operating are to be carried out today, as the plant races to secure a supply of raw materials.
The Department for Business and Trade said officials are working to secure supplies of materials, including coking coal, to keep British Steel operational, as well as to ensure all staff will be paid.
It added that setting up new supply chains was “crucial” as a fall in blast furnace temperature could risk “irreparable damage to the site, with the steel setting and scarring the machinery”.
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British Steel: What happens next?
Companies including Tata – which ran the now-closed Port Talbot steelworks – and Rainham Steel have offered managerial support and materials to keep the Lincolnshire site running.
Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds said in a statement that “when I said steelmaking has a future in the UK, I meant it”.
“Steel is vital for our national security and our ambitious plans for the housing, infrastructure and manufacturing sectors in the UK,” he added.
“We will set out a long-term plan to co-invest with the private sector to ensure steel in the UK has a bright and sustainable future.”
Unions said Jingye decided to cancel orders of key materials for the steelworks
Earlier this month, unions said the steelwork’s owner, Chinese company Jingye, decided to cancel future orders for the iron ore, coal and other raw materials needed to keep the furnaces running.
It meant the Scunthorpe plant had been on course to close down by May, bit it sparked urgent calls for government intervention.
Emergency legislation was passed on Saturday bringing the steelworks into effective government control, and officials were on site as soon as the new legislation came into force.
However, the business secretary has warned that does not mean the plant is guaranteed to survive.
Appearing on Sky News’ Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips, Mr Reynolds also said he would not bring a Chinese company into the “sensitive” steel sector again.
“I don’t know… the Boris Johnson government when they did this, what exactly the situation was,” he added. “But I think it’s a sensitive area.”
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‘I wouldn’t bring a Chinese company into our steel sector’
Jingye stepped in with a deal to buy British Steel’s Scunthorpe plant out of insolvency in 2020, when Mr Johnson was prime minister.
The minister added that while The Steel Industry (Special Measures) Bill stops short of the full nationalisation of British Steel, “to be frank, as I said to parliament yesterday, it is perhaps at this stage the likely option”.
The Conservatives accused the government of acting “too late” and implementing a “botched nationalisation” after ignoring warnings about the risk to the steelworks.
Read more:
A sticking plaster, not a solution: What next for British Steel?
How Trump, China and Reform all played their part
Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith said: “The Labour Government have landed themselves in a steel crisis entirely of their own making.
“They’ve made poor decisions and let the unions dictate their actions.”
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