Couple jailed after keeping starving autistic man locked in attic
Matthew Langley was six feet tall but weighed just six stone when he was found suffering from severe malnutrition.
Saturday 19 February 2022 06:23, UK
A mother and stepfather have been jailed for six years each after keeping her starving autistic son locked in an attic.
Lorna and Craig Hewitt were sentenced on Friday by a judge who heard that Matthew Langley, 22, weighed just six stone - despite being six feet tall - when he was found in June last year.
Mr Langley had been kept in the attic bedroom of their house in Walkley, Sheffield, imprisoned by a lock on the door which could only be opened from the outside.
He was covered with bruises and cuts, his fingernails and toenails were so long they were causing him pain, his hair was long and unkempt, and his teeth were badly stained.
Floor covered in rubbish and human excrement
The man had not been allowed to leave the room, even to eat with family, the court heard. Instead, his food was delivered to his room in a box.
The floor was covered in rubbish and human excrement, there were no washing facilities or toilet for him, and he was suffering from severe malnutrition.
South Yorkshire Police said Mr Langley had been so ill that when he arrived at hospital, he was taken to intensive care.
Medical experts said he must have been fed only a few hundred calories a day over a period of a few months, and he was just a few days from death when he was found.
He has since recovered.
Mr Langley's mother Lorna Hewitt, 43, and her husband Craig Hewitt, 42, were convicted of causing or allowing serious injury to a vulnerable adult and false imprisonment last month.
They were sentenced at Sheffield Crown Court.
A healthy and happy young man
Detective Chief Inspector Eleanor Welsh said: "I know people will be understandably upset and alarmed by hearing the details of what the victim in this case experienced at the hands of his mother and stepfather.
"I am sure people will be pleased to know that despite his ordeal, he has recovered well from the life-threatening condition he was found in, thanks to the care and support of medical professionals and partners.
"He is now a healthy and happy young man. He is now surrounded by the care and support he deserves to help him recover from the psychological effects of his experiences."