A mother and father who allowed their daughter to perish “in the most inhumane way” have been sentenced to prison. Steffie Davies, 32, who passed away on May 26, 2023, weighed merely five stone and had lice infesting her hair when paramedics were summoned to the property.
Her parents, Bernita and Alan Davies, both aged 60, and of Bluebell Estate, Pandy, Wrexham, had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult.
Today, they were sentenced to eight years behind bars. They must complete two thirds of that term before being freed on licence. A judge declared they permitted their daughter to perish “in the most inhumane way possible, suffering in the most extreme neglect”.
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Following the sentencing of the pair, Mrs Justice Stacey stated: “Who knows what life she might have led if she had had nurturing and caring parents and how she might have been able to thrive and use her talent and skill with animals and had obtained the help she needed for her agoraphobia and anxiety.
“In the words of her sister ‘with the right support and encouragement’ from you she could have done so much with her life.”, reports North Wales Live.
“Instead she was left to fade into insignificance and die in the most inhumane way possible, suffering in the most extreme neglect, enduring immense pain, after leaving her life constrained by both of you.”
Ms Davies was “almost skeletal” when emergency services were summoned, with pressure sores and joint contractures which would have prevented her from eating or drinking without assistance, the court heard. Andrew Jones KC, leading the prosecution, described her as having filthy, tangled hair, possibly infested with lice eggs, suspected fungal infections on her skin and a “sodden” bed where she was discovered.
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Steffie had last been spotted by neighbours in 2017. She seemed to have no social life. When Bernita Davies dialled emergency services, Steffie had already been dead for several days.
The exact duration of her death could not be determined. Bernita Davies would have passed by Steffie’s bedroom door during that period.
The judge noted that Bernita was infamous as the “mother from hell” for her habit of yelling at her children when they were younger. Steffie became increasingly reclusive.
The judge stated: “She would always listen to you both – if you had made a doctor’s appointment she would have attended.
“You made no effort to get her help.” As Steffie lay in “extreme pain”, her parents continued their daily routines whilst their daughter languished, starving. They “simply ignored her”.