Couple charged with manslaughter over death of morbidly obese daughter

J

Jeni

Senior Member
https://www.yahoo.com/news/couple-charged-manslaughter-over-death-201203499.html

Two parents have been charged with manslaughter after allegedly allowing their daughter to become morbidly obese.
In what is believed to be the first case of its kind, the parents of Kaylea Titford, 16, appeared in court on Tuesday after being charged with gross negligence manslaughter and causing or allowing the death of a child or vulnerable person.
The disabled teenage girl was found dead at her home in Newtown, Powys, Wales, in October 2020.
It is alleged that between March 24 and Oct 11, 2020, Kaylea's father Alun Titford, 44, and mother Sarah Lloyd-Jones, 39, of Colwyn, Newtown, failed to ensure that her dietary needs were met, leading to morbid obesity.

Well i thought it would eventually happen but perhaps it is a good wake up for those parents with kids going down the path to obesity.
 

There are so few facts. She's described as disabled so the first thing that comes to mind professionally is that she may have suffered from something like Prader-Willi syndrome. Sometimes that's so severe that caregivers have to lock up all food including placing locks on fridges and freezers. Very sad. :(

Edit to add: Found this in several articles: Cause of death: "inflammation and infection in extensive areas of ulceration arising from obesity and it's complications in a girl with spina bifida and hydrocephalus."
 

I think she would have been described as having Prader - Willi syndrome because it's a condition that is well known here due to one of our more notorious celebrities having a child who suffers from it... so I believe that if she had it , it would have been diagnosed already, plus with Spina Bifida, I doubt she'd be able to get to food easily that was put out of her reach even if that were the case.

I honestly think after reading this story a couple of days ago.. that the parents are likely not very bright, and because the child was disabled and unable to run around and play as other kids might , they fed her just like some people do with a pet dog until it's so fat it can barely move....

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From the mail...


It is alleged that the pair, of Colwyn, Newtown, Wales between March 24 and October 11, 2020, failed to ensure Ms Titford's dietary needs were met, leading to morbid obesity.

The charge also states 'nor did they ensure she got enough exercise, was in a hygienic condition, had a safe and hygienic environment, her physical health was maintained, or that reasonable medical help was sought.'
 
It's sad all the way around. The child couldn't really exercise and she might have been on medications that effected her weight. It would be very hard for parents to deny a child who said she was hungry and it may not have taken a really excessive amount of food to make her gain weight.
 
RFW said:
I fear society has normalized obesity as being normal and healthy. Not to mention all the enablers who contribute to it.
Click to expand...
Adults on many TV shows they have about surgical options or how it is like to be 500+ lbs etc ...
It is clear to me many have some mental issues to deal with .....therapy is better then eating ones self to death.

IMO real morbid obesity is a very slow awful way to commit suicide.
Many people are involved example ... kids/ spouse or even parents who bring them usually huge portions of various food ........are enablers Much like any other addict they need to do tough love and no longer enable.

If a person that gave a addict enough drugs to OD can be held accountable how would this be different ?
It should be considered long term assisted suicide.
Yes with limitations and limited mobility it became even more important to not over feed them, but no an excuse as to why it happened.
 
The article says this is the first case of this kind. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

There's no mention of her being mentally impaired, she's sixteen years old, and they weren't literally stuffing food down her throat, so she would have had the option of not eating the food.

It's not exactly like bringing her drugs. Unlike drugs, parents are legally required to provide food for their children. What kind of food and how much should be served is a subject for debate from one family to the next.

Where will this law lead? If a child has a bike accident and wasn't wearing a helmet would the parents be held accountable? What about the parents who failed to keep cleaning products on a high shelf and a child poisoned himself? What about the parents of anorexic children?

I just don't know. A lot will depend on the intentions of the parents.
 
Della said:
What about the parents of anorexic children?
Click to expand...

https://www.yahoo.com/news/parents-charged-murder-malnourished-8-182649712.html

I think there is a slippery slope ..................but parents like in link here can be charged with malnourished child why not in over feeding cases....

I do not think clogging courts is a great answer but many many items children get hurt/ killed/ or do something horrific................ COULD be caught early if some parents believed they had the chance of being held accountable.
look at recent school shooting ..... many seemed happy that the parents were charged etc....
Parents paying attention.... perhaps could have seen red flags in for example the Epstein sex abuse case....
 
Della said:
The article says this is the first case of this kind. I'm not sure how I feel about it.

There's no mention of her being mentally impaired, she's sixteen years old, and they weren't literally stuffing food down her throat, so she would have had the option of not eating the food.

It's not exactly like bringing her drugs. Unlike drugs, parents are legally required to provide food for their children. What kind of food and how much should be served is a subject for debate from one family to the next.

Where will this law lead? If a child has a bike accident and wasn't wearing a helmet would the parents be held accountable? What about the parents who failed to keep cleaning products on a high shelf and a child poisoned himself? What about the parents of anorexic children?

I just don't know. A lot will depend on the intentions of the parents.
Click to expand...
All of the things you mention are concerned with the well-being and safety of a child. That is the responsibility of the parents....and it's about time parents were taught to take that responsibility more seriously.
 
Jeni said:
Well i thought it would eventually happen but perhaps it is a good wake up for those parents with kids going down the path to obesity.
Click to expand...
Many parents could care less.

I started gaining weight at age 8 when I started to get bullied in school over a scene my mother came to the school and made. The kids tortured me over her behavior. I was also being abused in the house. My mother loved it! The weight kept me isolated and she had her fun go to put down toward me. I'm in the low 200s so gratefully have never got to the 500 pound bracket. But I've comforted myself with food all my life since age 8. If I could be normal weight easily, I'd have been there years ago. This issue is very, very complicated.

Regarding shows like My 600 Pound Life. Yes, many of these people have enablers who bring them food. And of coarse you have food delivery also. One woman who grew up with an alcoholic father stated her childhood was a "constant state of panic" and her only comfort was going in the kitchen to eat at night. That poor child needed something. That's not really something many survive fully intact.

Here is a really good talk on childhood trauma and ACE scores if anyone is interested. I may have posted this before. But it's going to have an affect when the extreme stress of fight or flight is initiated repeatedly in a child. If you don't want to watch the whole thing, start at 7 minutes.

 
I have mixed feelings about this one. First of all there are not enough details here to really judge the thing.

I was an obese child and it was not my parents fault. Except maybe for the genes they gave me...

From a very early age I can remember my parents trying to get me to diet and eat well, never worked I was too good at stealing or secretly getting food, mostly junk food. My parents did all they could to stop it, but nothing really worked. Though I might have been more obese had they not tried.

A complex problem...
 

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