Kaylea Titford’s father found guilty of manslaughter over death of his 16-year-old daughter

Kaylea Titford’s father has been found guilty of manslaughter by gross negligence after the 16-year-old was found dead in ‘degrading’ and ‘inhumane’ conditions in 2020. Alun Titford was convicted of killing his disabled daughter and allowing her to become obese during the first Covid-19 lockdown.

The 45-year-old was warned to face a prison sentence after being convicted by a jury of the crime at Mold Crown Court. Kaylea’s mother Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 40, had pleaded guilty to the same charge in December 2022. The couple will be handed over their sentence at Swansea crown court on March 1.

16-year-old Kaylea Titford had spina bifida and was morbidly obese. However, by the time of her death in October 2020, she was living in poor conditions which prosecutors said were ‘unfit for any animal’, as per The Guardian. She was born with water on the brain or hydrocephalus along with spina bifida which prevented her from using her legs. As per reports, Kaylea attended a mainstream school and used a wheelchair to get around. She excelled in sports and even attend a scouting day for potential Paralympians.


She was a student at Newtown high school before the first Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020. But her health deteriorated in the next seven months. Following his arrest, Kaylea’s father told the police that he did not think his daughter left the bed since the lockdown started.

As per media reports, while her father changed his story later, the jury heard that emergency service workers had discovered maggots under her body, which was also covered in sores. In his statement to the police, Alun later also said that he went to Kaylea’s bedroom a fortnight before she died and did not notice anything peculiar, not even a bad smell.

Alun and Sarah will now hear their sentences in March this year for killing their daughter. It is also believed to be the UK’s first prosecution of its kind where parents are charged with killing their child by not monitoring her diet.

FAQs:

1. How old was Kaylea Titford?
   16 years.
2. What is spina bifida?
   It is a birth defect in which the spinal cord is improperly developed.