Neglected woman Debbie Leitch left to die in Blackpool home was 'unlawfully killed'

ITV Granada Reports correspondent Tim Scott has this report.

A woman with Down's Syndrome who died in an emancipated state at her home was unlawfully killed, an inquest has concluded.

Debbie Leitch, 24, was discovered dead at her family home in Blackpool in August 2019.

She weighed under four stone and had been abandoned by her mother to die alone, in pain and in squalid conditions, described as "barely inhabitable."

Debbie's mother Elaine Clarke, 49, was jailed in 2021 for nine years and seven months after pleading guilty to gross negligence manslaughter after initially denying the offence.

Alan Wilson, senior coroner, opened the three-day inquest into Ms Leitch’s death on Monday, 14 October, and revealed Clarke had refused to take part in the process.

He described the case as "particularly sad" and "tragic", listing failings on the part of the professionals who visited Debbie's home before she died.

Mr Wilson said the family GP did not show enough professional curiosity when they visited, despite Debbie's weight loss and incontinence.

A social worker and carer did not ask enough questions about her condition and they were easily influenced by her mother, Elaine, who had hidden the truth about her neglect.

Concluding the case on Wednesday, 16 October, Mr Wilson did not issue a Prevention of Future Deaths report as he was satisfied the professional agencies who had failed Debbie have since changed their habits.

He said the cause of her death was severe emaciation, neglect and scabies and ruled she was unlawfully killed.

Karen Smith, Director of Adult Services, said: “Since the time of Deborah’s untimely death our thoughts and condolences have been with her extended family.

“We know Deborah’s mother manipulated circumstances through disguised compliance when dealing with professionals so that her neglect was not apparent to ourselves and other agencies visiting their home and that she was subsequently convicted of gross negligence manslaughter in 2022.

“However, it is clear from the work undertaken since the time of Deborah’s death in 2019 and the review that was published in 2023 that there were missed opportunities and Deborah’s voice was seldom heard.

“Deborah’s tragic death has taught us a lot. Following the review, changes have been implemented and are now embedded in our social work practice.

"Our processes have been improved, along with the way we share information internally, with other councils, our partners and local agencies in order to improve the care we provide to vulnerable residents.

"We have also shared the learning more widely through the Safeguarding Board, which has also overseen the assurance that the actions identified have been taken.”

The inquest earlier heard from former Cherish UK carer Scott Worthington who described the environment Debbie lived in as "very dirty" and how there was "chaos" in the house.

Mr Worthington also described hearing loud crying from a room upstairs and, on the one occasion he saw Debbie in person, he was shocked by her appearance saying she was gaunt and 'looked like a skeleton'.

A written statement from another former carer, Solomon Thornton, who visited the house to deal with another matter described finding "bottles of urine".

He said there were “always stacks of dirty pots in the kitchen" and the house had a strong smell of faeces.

A post-mortem found Debbie had died from severe emaciation and neglect with an extensive scabies skin infection.

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