Evil couple who left autistic son to starve in room covered in faeces jailed
19.02.2022 - 01:23
/ dailyrecord.co.uk
An evil mum and stepdad who left their starving autistic son just days from death in a locked attic room have been sentenced to prison.
Lorna Hewitt, 43, and husband Craig Hewitt, 42, were found guilty following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court last month and locked up for six years, Yorkshire Live reports.
The sick couple left 22-year-old Matthew Langley to languish in a room covered in rubbish and human faeces, with no access to a toilet or washing facilities for more than seven months.
Medical experts say he was only fed a few hundred calories a day, with food delivered in a box to his room as he was banned from eating with the rest of the family, the jury heard.
The Hewitts' horrific crimes came to light when paramedics were called to the house after Matthew collapsed in June last year. Experts estimated he was just a few days from death and was covered in bruises and abrasions.
His finger and toenails had been allowed to grow so long they were causing him pain and his teeth were also severely stained with orange plaque. The court heard Matthew had to be cleaned by nursing staff upon his arrival at hospital.
Judge Michael Slater told Sheffield Crown Court during the sentencing on Friday that during the seven months Matthew was kept prisoner he "must have experienced increasing feelings of anxiety, confusion, anger, loneliness and pain as he crawled around on his hands and knees."
Following the trial, South Yorkshire Police released shocking pictures of the room where Matthew was kept prisoner.
The court heard that at the time of Matthew's collapse, his mother was suffering from anorexia, and his stepfather from depression.
Mitigating for Craig Hewitt, Tana Marie Adkin, said there was no attempt to conceal the crimes and