Parents who killed morbidly obese disabled teenage daughter have sentences changed

Alun Titford and Sarah Lloyd-Jones were convicted of the gross negligence manslaughter of Kaylea Titford

A mother and father who killed their morbidly obese daughter after leaving her bed-ridden in squalor have had their jail terms increased.

Alun Titford and Sarah Lloyd-Jones, who were convicted earlier this year of the gross negligence manslaughter of Kaylea Titford, had their jail sentences increased at the Court of Appeal to 10 years and eight years respectively.

Court of Appeal judges said the circumstances leading to the young girl’s death “can only be categorised as extreme”.

Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 40, was originally jailed for six years, while Titford, 45, was previously told he would spend seven and a half years behind bars.

Kaylea, who weighed 22 stone, was found in conditions described as “unfit for any animal”, in soiled clothing and bed linen, after her death at the family home in Newtown, Powys, in October 2020.

Kaylea Titford (Family handout/PA) (PA Media)

The teenager, who had spina bifida and used a wheelchair, died after suffering inflammation and infection from ulceration, arising from obesity and immobility.

William Emlyn Jones KC, representing the Attorney General’s Office (AGO), said: “By virtue of the combination of the duration of the neglect, the nature of the victim’s prolonged suffering, the extent of the victim’s vulnerability and absolute dependence on her parents for care, and ultimately, the appalling conditions in which she was left to live and ultimately die, this is an offence which falls into the definition of ‘extreme’.”

Lloyd-Jones watched by videolink from prison, but Titford was not present as their sentences were increased.

Kaylea Titford (Family Handout/PA) (PA Wire)

Lord Justice Popplewell said: “The circumstances can only be categorised as extreme, Kaylea was living in unimaginable squalor.”

Titford, who had denied manslaughter by gross negligence, told jurors during his trial he had let his daughter down so badly because he was “lazy” – leaving his partner to look after her.

Kaylea, as well as being found dead in unimaginable conditions, had dirty, matted hair when she was found. She was also unwashed and had ulcerated skin.

Sarah Lloyd-Jones arrives at Swansea Crown Court, to be sentenced (Jacob King/PA) (PA Wire)

Before the Covid lockdown, Kaylea was described as “fiercely independent and a lovely, chatty girl” by people who knew her, but during the pandemic she became less and less able to move and needed a wheelchair.

A doctor said the “consequences of neglect” that Kaylea suffered were the worst he’d seen in the last 30 years. The teenager had not seen a medical professional for nine months before she died.