Lancashire mum who allowed disabled daughter to die in squalor jailed

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A woman who abandoned her “vulnerable” daughter to die alone in pain in her squalid bedroom has been jailed for nine years and seven months.

The body of Debbie Leitch, 24, who was born with Down's syndrome, was discovered at her family home in Blackpool in August 2019. She weighed under four stone at the time.

The scene that greeted emergency services was “truly shocking” as her face was “completely encrusted with scabs and thickened skin, such that she was no longer recognisable as being a young female”, Preston Crown Court heard.

A post-mortem examination gave the cause of death as severe emaciation and neglect with extensive and severe scabies skin infection.

Her mother Elaine Clarke, 49, who received weekly benefit payments of £215 to care for Miss Leitch, pleaded guilty in December to gross negligence manslaughter after she initially denied the offence.

Sentencing her on Thursday, Mrs Justice Yip said Miss Leitch’s condition had “deteriorated dramatically” in the months leading up to her death.

She told the defendant: “Nothing was done to halt her decline. Debbie was starved, her scabies was allowed to run out of control, she became more and more weakened until she died.

“In her last days, she was denied even the most basic care and dignity.

“Anyone entering her room and seeing her towards the end of her life could have been left with no doubt that her life was in real danger.

“One way or another, you ignored that risk and left Debbie to die in her squalid room.”

In 2016 when Miss Leitch lived in Leeds, she weighed 10st 1lb but she only weighed 3st 10lb at the time of her death, the court heard.

Opening the case, John Harrison QC said Miss Leitch was dependent on mother-of-four Clarke who was registered and paid as her carer.

Each of her children had learning or physical difficulties and the family had been well-known to social services in East Sussex with concerns about her parenting skills and that of various partners, he said.

In 2014, the family moved from Hastings to Leeds to live with Clarke’s new boyfriend, Robert Bruce, and where Miss Leitch used day care services.

The family moved again in August 2016 to Garden Terrace in Blackpool, he said, but Miss Leitch did not access any day care activities in the resort.

In April 2018, Miss Leitch was treated in hospital with Norwegian scabies, a condition associated with neglect, but follow-up appointments were not kept which would have alleviated her pain and discomfort with “relative ease”.

Family members and friends who visited her home later that year noticed signs that Miss Leitch was in clear pain with her skin condition.

When confronted by her sister, the defendant told her to “mind her own business”, said Mr Harrison.

During a visit in April 2019, a cousin of Miss Leitch went up to her bedroom which was dirty and untidy and saw Miss Leitch huddled on her bed.

She was crying for her mother saying her feet were sore, her hair appeared to have been hacked off and her skin was red and cracked.

In June 2019, Clarke phoned her local GP and was prescribed cream and antibiotics after she said her daughter had scabies and was unable to walk to the surgery.

Family members confronted the defendant again the following month and told her Miss Leitch was going to die as she looked so ill.

Clarke looked disinterested and her sister felt she was “only interested in receiving benefits for Debbie rather than looking after her”, the prosecutor said.

The family contacted social services in Blackpool and a safeguarding alert was later forwarded to the Waterloo Medical Practice.

In advance of a pre-arranged visit Clarke showered Miss Leitch and the doctor who called to the house concluded she was not suffering from scabies and believed there were no safeguarding concerns.

Follow-up appointment requests from her GP went on to be ignored by the defendant, said the prosecutor.

Clarke then lied to social workers on the phone about her daughter’s condition after they had tried to reach her at home.

Another pre-arranged visit, this time with social workers, was set up on 1 August and once again the defendant showered Miss Leitch and, although she appeared unwell and very slight, the social workers were not alarmed by her appearance.

Mr Harrison said: “The defendant must have realised Debbie’s physical condition and presentation would raise concerns and made efforts to hide her true condition from the authorities.”

Social services intended to visit again on 2 September - just days before Miss Leitch’s body was found on 29 August.

Neighbours heard a young female crying into the early hours of the morning during the week with the voice heard saying “mummy, mummy”.

Mr Harris said examination of her body showed Miss Leitch had died some time between eight and 36 hours before the ambulance crews attended.

Detective Chief Inspector Lee Wilson of Lancashire Police’s Force Major Investigation Team, said: “In my time working as a police officer, this remains one of the most difficult and tragic cases I have investigated. [It] affected everyone who worked on it.

“Debbie’s death was wholly avoidable. She should be alive and well, living a good and happy life today. That she isn’t lies firmly at the feet of the one person upon whom she relied - her mother, her paid carer.

“We know Debbie came to Blackpool having been a happy, thriving college student. Sadly, in just a few years, she was let down in the most extreme manner by the dark and malevolent personality that is Elaine Clarke.

"Clarke has shown no remorse at any stage in this lengthy investigation - any tears she has shed were, I am convinced, for the predicament she now finds herself in. She is truly a despicable individual.

“Debbie had her life ahead of her. She required regular help and attention, and craved affection and love from her mother whom despite everything done to her she clearly doted on and loved. That support was coldly withheld as Clarke prioritised her own needs.

“It is clear Clarke made deliberate choices to leave Debbie to her own devices, effectively abandoning her to her fate. This, even though they lived in the same house.

"Debbie was left in abject squalor - left to die in a faeces-laden, maggot-infested bedroom, with plates of rotting food. Debbie was rarely changed and showered - in fact only when it came to covering up what was going on and concealing the truth of the situation.

“When she knew visitors were coming from social services, or local doctors, Clarke would tidy up, wash Debbie and make it appear all was well.

"When they left, she would leave Debbie in her room, often crying, calling for her mummy.

“The evidence provided by witnesses including family members was vital in establishing the behaviour of Clarke, who is clearly a liar, as well as being very manipulative and cruel.

“Today’s sentencing brings to the end a most tragic investigation and my thoughts remain with Debbie’s wider family, who I know miss her dearly.

"I should also like to thank colleagues who attended the scene, the investigation team and legal team for their fortitude and determination to get the justice Debbie deserves.”