A father accused of causing or allowing the death of his obese teenage daughter has admitted he could have done more to help her.
Kaylea Titford, 16, weighed 22st and 13lbs, with a body mass index of 70, when she died in October 2020 at her home in Newtown, Powys, Wales, where she was found lying in soiled clothing and bed linen.
Her father Alun Titford had messaged her the night before her death and told her to “stop screaming” if she had a bad chest, Mold Crown Court heard.
Titford, of Colwyn, Newtown, denies manslaughter by gross negligence and an alternative count of causing or allowing the death of a child.
Giving evidence on Wednesday, Titford was asked by David Elias KC, defending, if he could have done more to help Kaylea.
He replied: “Yeah. I could just have done more.”
Titford, 45, was asked whether he was the best father he could have been to any of his six children.
He said: “No. I’m just not very good.”
The removals worker said Kaylea was a “lovely” child.
He told the court he would take his daughter, who had spina bifida and used a wheelchair, to medical appointments and help with her care but as she got older he became less involved.
He said: “I stepped back. I didn’t do as much for her. She was getting older and I just didn’t feel comfortable.”
He said Kaylea was looked after by her mother, Sarah Lloyd-Jones, who has pleaded guilty to gross negligence manslaughter.
“I presumed everything was being done,” he said.
Titford said Kaylea’s weight became harder to manage as she got older.
The dietitian service dealing with Kaylea discharged her and social workers stopped visiting, the court heard.
Titford told the court “most days” Kaylea would scream if her siblings or parents went into her room and she did not want them there.
He added that she had a cold the night before her death and could not hear what was being said but could hear Kaylea screaming.
Titford said he thought one of her siblings was in her room with Kaylea not wanting them there.
The court heard he then messaged her just after 10.30pm and said: “If you have a bad chest stop screaming.”
The next morning, he said he was woken by Lloyd-Jones who was crying and told him Kaylea was dead so he went to check her.
He said: “I just touched her and I could tell.”
Titford said his mother was contacted and she phoned emergency services.
When paramedics arrived Titford was sitting on the stairs, the jury was told, and did not go back to Kaylea’s room.
He said: “I couldn’t. I was too upset.”
Asked why Kaylea’s bedroom was so cluttered, Titford said: “We just didn’t throw nothing away.”
Titford said Lloyd-Jones, who worked as a carer, had not discussed any problems or difficulties with Kaylea’s hygiene.
Lloyd-Jones messaged Titford on 23 February 2020 saying “I’ve had enough of everything, my life, the lot”, the court heard.
He replied: “OK. I’ll take the day off then, shall I?”
He said “now and again” there would be arguments about what was being done by others in the family and they would “talk it through”.
The trial continues.
