Shocking footage shows squalid conditions teenager Kaylea Titford was living in before her death
Warning: Video contains graphic footage some viewers may find distressing
Source: Dyfed Powys Police
Shocking evidence from the trial of a man accused of the manslaughter of his morbidly obese daughter has been released which shows the filthy conditions she was living in at the time of her death.
Kaylea Titford who had spina bifida and used a wheelchair to get around was found dead in October 2020 in a “filthy” room at the Newtown home she shared with her parents.
The court heard the 16-year-old weighed 23 stone at the time of her death. She had been described as “lovely” and “fiercely independent”.
During the trial, the prosecution alleges that she had been bedridden for around six months prior to her death - “unable to access anything outside the filthy confined space she was left in”.
Caroline Rees KC told jurors at Mold Crown Court, “At the heart of this case is Kaylea Titford, barely 16 years old when she died. We know Kaylea was a vulnerable, disabled child with spina bifida.”
The court heard how Kaylea "slept, ate and died in filth” as the prosecution described how “experienced police officers had seen nothing like it before, the smell making some of them feel physically sick.
"The culmination of weeks and months of neglect from Kaylea’s parents”, she added.
The trial heard how Kaylea had "not washed for weeks" and that she was living in conditions "not fit for animals" when she was found lying in soiled clothing and bed linen.
A paramedic who attended the scene of her death told the court how despite attending hundreds of sudden deaths he said he had “never” smelled anything like that around Kaylea and in her room.
He told the court he had found Kaylea sat up in her bed.
Upon pulling away the duvet, the paramedic said he was hit with an "horrific" smell that he initially thought was ''gangrene''.
He said he retched and “requested to get out for some fresh air”.
The trial also heard from Kaylea's teachers who said she had not attended school since the lockdown in March 2020. They described how they had tried in vain to get the teenager to come back to school the month before she died.
During his defence, Mr Titford's lawyer argued he had not entered her bedroom described as “cluttered” with faeces and urine bottles on the floor for nearly two weeks prior to her dying in October 2020.
The 45-year-old was found guilty of manslaughter on Tuesday 7 February.
His defence argued that Mr Titford worked full time and he "relied upon the support of a family who had been doing a perfectly good job if not an excellent job in the care of Kaylea”.
It is claimed he was a man who came home from his job in removals, poked his head around the door to say hello, went to his bedroom where he ate his food and watched television.
David Elias KC said, "Alun Titford at that time was working a full time job, going out very early and coming back very late”.
Mold Crown Court heard that he worked 15 days straight in the lead up to Kaylea’s death.
His partner and the mother of Kaylea Titford, Sarah Lloyd Jones has previously pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of her daughter by gross negligence and is awaiting sentencing.
They will both be sentenced on 1 March.