A vulgar dad has been found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence after his morbidly obese teenage daughter died at their family home. Kaylea Titford, 16, died in October 2020 weighing 22 stone and 13 pounds and was found living in disgusting conditions deemed 'unfit for an animal'.
Alun Titford, 45, left his disabled daughter, who suffered from spina bifida, in soiled clothing and bed linen. The teen with a BMI of 70 was found next to maggots which are believed to have been feeding on her body, a jury heard.
The removals worker denied the charges but today he was found guilty of gross negligence and causing or allowing the death of a child, the Mirror reports. When asked why he allowed Kaylea to live in such conditions, Titford replied: “I’m lazy.”
His partner Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 39, had already pleaded guilty to manslaughter by gross negligence. Mold Crown Court heard Kaylea died after suffering inflammation and infection ulceration, caused by obesity and immobility.
Emergency service workers were called out to the property in Powys Wales after the teenager was found on October 10 and described feeling unwell due to the 'rotting' smell in her room.
The court heard Kaylea had been lying on top of a number of soiled puppy toilet training pads on her bedsheets and her room was extremely cluttered and dirty. Bottles of urine, a chip fryer with drips of fat down the side and a full cake in a box were also uncovered in the filthy bedroom.
Kaylea had attended Newtown High School where staff described her as 'funny and chatty' but had not returned since the first coronavirus lockdown in March 2020. Titford, who shared six children with Lloyd-Jones, said the family would eat takeaways four or five times a week.
It's been alleged Kaylea had not been able to use her wheelchair since the beginning of the lockdown as it became too small for her after the enormous weight gain. It is believed the teen put on two or three stone since March.
Caroline Rees KC, prosecuting, asked Titford: “She hadn’t been out of bed, had she?” Titford initially claimed he had seen Kaylea in the kitchen in her wheelchair but later admitted to police he hadn't seen her out of bed.
The court also heard Kaylea had been discharged from physiotherapy and dietetics services in the years before her death and had last been seen by a social worker at home in 2017. Titford claimed Lloyd-Jones, who was a community care worker, was responsible for Kaylea's wellbeing.
He said he used to take her to medical appointments and looked after but stopped after she hit puberty as he was no longer 'comfortable'. However, in cross-examination he accepted he was as much to blame for his daughter's death as her mother was.
Judge Mr Justice Griffiths said: “There can be no doubt this case passes the custody threshold.”
The judge told jurors they would receive a 10-year exemption from jury service, as had been a “lot of difficult and a lot of expert evidence”.
He added: “The subject matter was, no doubt, unusually distressing.”
Detective Chief Inspector Jonathon Rees said: "The circumstances of Kaylea’s death were tragic, and her parents will have to live with the part they played in that for the rest of their lives.
"This investigation has been extensive, and at times harrowing given Kaylea’s age and the conditions she was living in, yet our officers and partners have worked diligently and professionally throughout. I would like to thank them for their efforts, and for getting justice for Kaylea.
"I would also like to thank those who knew Kaylea and members of the community in which she lived for their patience throughout this sensitive investigation."
Titford and Lloyd-Jones are due to be sentenced at Swansea Crown Court on March 1.
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