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| Jordan Burling: Women jailed after teen 'rotted to death' | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The mother and grandmother of an emaciated teenager who was likened to a World War Two concentration camp victim have been jailed for manslaughter. | The mother and grandmother of an emaciated teenager who was likened to a World War Two concentration camp victim have been jailed for manslaughter. |
| Jordan Burling, 18, went into cardiac arrest in Leeds in 2016 and died weighing less than six stone (37kg). | Jordan Burling, 18, went into cardiac arrest in Leeds in 2016 and died weighing less than six stone (37kg). |
| Mother Dawn Cranston and grandmother Denise allowed Mr Burling to "rot to death", Leeds Crown Court heard. | Mother Dawn Cranston and grandmother Denise allowed Mr Burling to "rot to death", Leeds Crown Court heard. |
| Dawn, 45, and Denise, 70, were convicted of manslaughter and jailed for four and three years respectively. | Dawn, 45, and Denise, 70, were convicted of manslaughter and jailed for four and three years respectively. |
| Mr Burling's sister Abigail Burling, who was found guilty of causing or allowing a vulnerable adult's death, was ordered to serve 18 months in prison. | Mr Burling's sister Abigail Burling, who was found guilty of causing or allowing a vulnerable adult's death, was ordered to serve 18 months in prison. |
| The judge told the three women it was "almost beyond belief" Mr Burling "should have been allowed to die in his own house in the bosom of his family". | The judge told the three women it was "almost beyond belief" Mr Burling "should have been allowed to die in his own house in the bosom of his family". |
| "Through your gross negligence, a precious human life was lost needlessly," he said. | |
| Mr Justice Spencer said the pictures of the teenager in an emaciated state were "hauntingly reminiscent of starving victims of extermination camps in the Second World War". | Mr Justice Spencer said the pictures of the teenager in an emaciated state were "hauntingly reminiscent of starving victims of extermination camps in the Second World War". |
| Earlier, Mr Burling's aunt, Susan Burling, read a victim personal statement on behalf of his father, Steven. | Earlier, Mr Burling's aunt, Susan Burling, read a victim personal statement on behalf of his father, Steven. |
| Ms Burling said the family were trying to cope with a "living nightmare". | Ms Burling said the family were trying to cope with a "living nightmare". |
| The statement said: "I just can't understand why all these horrific things have happened to me and my family." | The statement said: "I just can't understand why all these horrific things have happened to me and my family." |
| During the trial, the prosecution said Jordan was allowed to "rot to death" by the women, who failed to phone for medical assistance until it was too late. | |
| Paramedics found Mr Burling wearing a soiled nappy and lying in an unresponsive state on a makeshift inflatable bed in the living room of the house in Butterbowl Garth, Farnley. | |
| A subsequent police search of the property found the remains of a baby boy in a rucksack, hidden on the top shelf of a cupboard in Mr Burling's bedroom for 14 years. | |
| Before the trial, his mother admitted endeavouring to conceal the birth of a child. | |
| An NHS dietician had told the court Mr Burling, who was 5ft 5ins (1.67m) tall, had a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 13.6, which falls in the "severe thinness" category. | |
| The figure, based on measurements taken during his post-mortem examination, was the lowest the dietician had recorded in her 26-year career. | |
| It was estimated he had been malnourished for at least six months before his death on 30 June, having developed bed sores so deep they left bone exposed. | |
| The judge said the three women had attempted to take care of Mr Burling as his condition worsened including washing him and changing his adult nappy. | |
| They were "relentless and unpleasant tasks" and Mr Burling's death was the greatest punishment the three would have to bear, he said. | |
| Dr Cleo Van Velsen, a consultant psychiatrist who assessed Dawn, told the jury her behaviour was consistent with a dissociative disorder called depersonalisation - a defence mechanism characterised by a sense of disconnect from the world and your body to cope with acute anxiety or trauma. | |
| None of the three have any previous convictions. | |
| In a statement read outside court, the family of Mr Burling's father, Steven, said: "We feel betrayed by the people we trusted to care for Jordan. | |
| "Steven and the family will always remember Jordan having a bubbly and chatty personality. | |
| "We have had two years of hell coming to terms with Jordan's death." |