Bernita Davies and husband Alan, both 60, accepted blame over the death of their daughter Steffie, 32, who was “almost skeletal” when her body was found
A “mother from hell” and “bad father” allowed their vulnerable daughter to die in an “almost skeletal” state weighing just five stone and with lice in her hair.
Emergency services found the body of Steffie Davies, 32, in an “emaciated state” in her bedroom in the house she shared with her mum and dad – with her sister saying she was “left to fade into insignificance”.
Steffie’s body was already decomposing. She had been dead for some time and there were flies around her face. A judge said there was no evidence of her having love and affection from her parents. Her parents, Bernita and Alan Davies, both 60, have been jailed for eight years after accepting blame over the death of their daughter in May 2023. A court heard they “failed in their responsibility to look after her”.
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Sentencing them at Mold crown court Mrs Justice Mary Stacey told them: “You are both criminally responsible for her death and did not care for her.” She said one of the very many distressing things about the case is that little is known of Steffie over the previous 10 years.
She said Bernita was known as the “mother from hell” when she shouted at her children when they were younger. Steffie became more and more withdrawn.
The judge said: “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.”
Alan Davies told paramedics Steffie had not got out of bed for 12 months. As she lay in “extreme pain”, her parents carried on with their lives. As their daughter lay there starving they “simply ignored her”, the judge said.
The judge said that if her parents had gone into her room and checked on her, it would have been impossible for them not to see the state she was in
Bernita and Alan Davies have been together for 34 years and had a happy marriage. They had both worked through their adult lives and had led law abiding lives. Neither had previous convictions. Both admitted a charge of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable adult
A Home Office pathologist found Steffie, who was five stone nine pounds and 5ft 7in tall, died from sepsis due to infected pressure ulcers, very low body weight and poor nutritional status.
The court heard it was not possible to establish when she died, but experts said ulcers on her body had been there for at least six weeks.
Mrs Davies told police she attended to her daughter at 9pm on May 24, 2023, when she was in bed reading. She checked on her a number of times the following day when she appeared to be asleep.
Paramedics were called to the house in Wrexham, North Wales, by her mother at 8.30am. The court heard the 999 call as Mrs Davies said her daughter was “dead”, “cold everywhere” and like “a skeleton”.
She was asked by the operator “Is the patient awake” to which she replied: “No she’s dead. She’s cold – she’s very cold.”
She was then asked: “Do you think she’s beyond any help?” Davies replied “yes” while crying. The operator said they would send help.
Andrew Thomas KC, prosecuting, said a doctor concluded she had clearly been in an “ulcerated” state for many weeks. The ulceration was extreme and would have been obvious to anyone with her.
Mr Thomas said she was emaciated and cold to touch, her body was described as stiff and it was clear she had been left in a terrible state. He said Bernita and Alan Davies had “failed in their responsibility to look after her”.
The court was shown photos of the house and Steffie’s room . Her room was “in an appalling state” in a “marked contrast” to the clean condition of the rest of the home.
Distressing photos of Steffie’s injuries were not shown after judge Mrs Justice Stacey said she wanted to “preserve, if possible, some of Steffie’s dignity in death”.
A statement from her sister, who was not named in court, said she was “left to fade into insignificance”. She said their childhood “wasn’t easy and we weren’t a close-knit family”.
She said as her sister got older “she struggled with social situations” telling how Steffie liked animals but as time went on her anxiety grew and she struggled to leave the house.
The sister asked the court: “How could they watch her fade away and do nothing,” She added she is still “grieving the loss” of her sister and was worried about her mum and dad being in prison.
Mr and Mrs Davies, who both made no comment in police interviews, were initially charged with gross negligence manslaughter – but guilty pleas to the charge of causing or allowing their daughter’s death were accepted earlier this year.
Maria Masselis KC, defending Mrs Davies, said she felt “shame and guilt” in her ability to care for Steffie – and described a “distinct feeling of inadequacy”.
She said: “While she knows she is responsible for the death of her daughter it is something she will have to live with for the rest of her life.”
The court heard Mr Davies, who has been diagnosed with bladder cancer, admitted he has been “a bad father”.
Simon Rogers KC, defending him, said: “This is not a case where the defendant felt any malevolence towards Steffie, there is no ill feeling towards her, he never wished her harm, yet he must accept that through his inaction that led to her death.
A tribute from Steffie’s family at the time of her death described her as the “beloved daughter of Alan and Bernita”. It also described her as a “dear granddaughter” and a “sadly missed auntie and niece”. It added: “She is much loved and will always be remembered.”
