Dad accused of manslaughter after 22-stone daughter found dead covered in maggots and lying in soiled clothing
18 January 2023, 15:39
The parents of a 22-stone teenage girl who was found dead in soiled clothing and covered in maggots and flies have been charged with her manslaughter.
Kaylea Titford, 16, lived in conditions "unfit for any animal" at her home in Newtown, Wales, before she died in October 2020, a court has been told
Her mother Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 39, has admitted manslaughter by gross negligence but her father Alun Titford, 45, denies it.
Kaylea had not left her bed since the start of the coronavirus lockdown in March 2020, Mr Titford told police, and said he was "not a very good dad".
He said they ate five takeaways a week, including Chinese, Indian and kebabs.
Kaylea weighed 22 stone and 13lbs and had a body mass index (BMI) of 70 when she died. The NHS considers a healthy BMI to be between 18.5 and 24.9.
A 999 call from Mr Titford’s mother was made on the morning of October 10 2020.
Paramedics entered her room and smelt an "unbearable" rotting odour before they found maggots crawling on the bed, jurors heard.
She was found in her room, lying on soiled clothing and bed linen.
She had maggots and flies on her body and milk bottles filled up with urine were discovered around her bed.
Caroline Rees KC, prosecuting, told Mold Crown Court: "The prosecution say that the scene - as witnessed by those that attended - together with the state in which Kaylea's body was found demonstrate clearly that this vulnerable girl, who relied heavily on others for her welfare needs, was seriously neglected by not just one but both of her parents, who owed her a duty of care."
She said that her conditions amounted to "squalor and degradation" and paramedics found her on top of filthy puppy pads.
Forensic analysis suggested even her socks had not been changed regularly.
Kaylea had been a "funny and chatty" pupil at Newtown High School but was grossly obese, had dirty, matted hair and her ulcerated body was unwashed, the court heard.
Mr Titford told police he did not think she had left her bed since before the coronavirus lockdown of March 2020.
"Kaylea Titford was living in conditions unfit for any animal, let alone a vulnerable 16-year-old girl who depended entirely on others for her care," Ms Rees told the court.
The teenager had spina bifida and hydrocephalus, a condition where fluid builds up in the brain. She also used a wheelchair from a young age, but Mr Titford had previously claimed she had outgrown it.
A pathologist said Kaylea had not washed in several weeks and found her death was caused by "inflammation and infection in extensive areas of ulceration arising from obesity and its complications, and immobility in a girl with spina bifida and hydrocephalus".
Mr Titford told police her mother looked after her, and when he was asked when he last asked Kaylea how she was, he said: "I didn't ask her. Like I say, I'm not the best of people. Nobody ever thinks their child is going to end up like that."
Mt Titford also denies an alternative charge of causing or allowing the death of a child. The trial continues.
