Kaylea Titford: Mother and father who let daughter die in squalor have sentences increased

A mother and father who allowed their disabled daughter to become morbidly obese and die have had their jail terms increased at the Court of Appeal.

Kaylea Titford, who suffered from spina bifida, was found dead at her home in Newtown, Powys  in October 2020, after mother Sarah Lloyd-Jones and father Alun Titford allowed the teenager's condition to deteriorate so much she died.

The 16-year-old weighed 22st 13lb with a BMI of 70 at the time of her death in October 2020.

Lawyers representing the Attorney General’s Office argued at a hearing in London on Friday that their sentences were “unduly lenient” and should be increased.

Alun 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.

Care worker Sarah Lloyd-Jones, who had six children with Titford, had previously admitted the same charge.

Lloyd-Jones, 40, was jailed for six years, while Alun Titford, 45, was told he would spend seven years and six months behind bars in March.

But on Friday, judge at the Court of Appeal said Sarah Lloyd-Jones' sentence should increase to eight years and Alun Titford's was increased to 10 years after the circumstances leading to her death "can only be categorised as extreme".

Kaylea, 16, 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.

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 by Lord Justice Popplewell, sitting with Mrs Justice McGowan and His Honour Judge Bate.

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