Kaylea Titford: Pictures show ‘squalor’ obese teen was found in after death | UK | News

Shocking images show the conditions a 16-year-old girl died in as her father stands accused of manslaughter by means of allowing her to become morbidly obese. The daughter, Kaylea Titford, was found in soiled clothing and bed linen.

Her living conditions were described as “squalor and degradation” by the prosecution in the case.

Kaylea weighed 22 stone and 13 lbs, with a body mass index of 70, when she died in October 2020. She also suffered from spina bifida and used a wheelchair.

Her father has denied the allegations put against him, but admitted in court that he “could have done more” to ensure his daughter was okay.

The disabled 16-year-old was found dead amongst a large amount of clutter, and police also found a bottle containing urine in the room.

David Elias KC, defending Mr Titford, urged the jurors in the case on Friday to “divorce” themselves from the “graphic nature” of the images.

He said: “The horror at the end of the case is not the benchmark, necessarily for guilt or innocence.

“It is revolting, it is horrific, there’s no dispute about it, but you have to look at how it got to that point, but more importantly, whether you are sure Alun Titford, leaving aside Sarah Lloyd-Jones because she accepts she was, is in any way criminally liable for the situation we know occurred.”

Earlier this week, Mr Titford gave evidence himself, and was asked by his legal representative whether he could have done more to help Kaylea.

 

He replied: “Yeah. I could just have done more.”

The 45-year-old was then asked if he was the best father he could be to his six children, to which he responded: “No. I’m just not very good.”

Mr Titford’s representative argued that the father had been let down by social services, adding that Kaylea was discharged from physiotherapy in 2017 and the following year was discharged from a dietetics service because her mother, Sarah Lloyd-Jones, did not book more appointments.

Mr Elias added: “What happened, once all those services withdrew for various reasons, but also because of the input of mum, what happened to Kaylea’s weight? How difficult then did it become for those looking after her?”

The court also heard that mother Ms Lloyd-Jones pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter.

Mr Elias argued that it was “reasonable” for Mr Titford to believe that Kaylea’s mother was responsible for her care at the time, adding: “It was Sarah who was dealing with that and that’s not passing the buck, that’s what was happening.”

He added: “Here is a defendant who was working throughout, who we say quite rightly, because he was entitled to, because of everything that she had done so well, truly believed until the day Kaylea was found that Sarah Lloyd-Jones was doing the right thing, was giving the right treatment and didn’t know that she wasn’t.”

Mr Titford said on Wednesday that Kaylea would scream “most days” if anyone entered her room against her wishes.

The court also heard that the night before her death Mr Titford messaged his daughter just after 10.30pm and said: “If you have a bad chest stop screaming.”

He told the court Kaylea had a cold and he thought a sibling had gone into the room when she did not want them there.

Mr Titford denies manslaughter by gross negligence and an alternative count of causing or allowing the death of a child.

The trial continues. 



*This story has not been edited by The Infallible staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.

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