WARNING: This story contains images some readers may find distressing. Discretion is advised.
The mother and grandmother of a teenager who was allowed to “rot to death” have been jailed for four and three years respectively.
Dawn and Denise Cranston were convicted of the manslaughter of Jordan Burling by a jury at Leeds Crown Court on Tuesday and were sentenced on Thursday.
His sister, Abigail Burling, was sentenced to 18 months after being found guilty of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable person.
The 18-year-old was found by paramedics wearing a soiled nappy and weighing less than six stone on June 30 2016, the day of his death.
Opening his sentencing remarks, the judge said it was “almost beyond belief” that Jordan Burling “should have been allowed to die in his own house, here in Leeds, in 2016, in the bosom of his family”.
He said the pictures of Jordan in an emaciated state were “hauntingly reminiscent of starving victims of extermination camps in the Second World War”.
At the beginning of the sentencing hearing Jordan Burling’s aunt, Susan Burling, read a victim personal statement on behalf of his father, Steven.
She said the family was 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 judge said: “It is important to emphasise that this was not a deprived household in material terms, nor were any of you inadequate to the point that you were unable to live a reasonably normal life outside the home.
“Although the house was full of clutter you all had mobile phones, laptop or tablet computers and great deal of other equipment.
“The house was well-stocked with food. There were three refrigerators or freezers.”
He said: “Through your gross negligence, a precious human life was lost needlessly.”
