Mother left teenage son to ‘rot to death’

A MOTHER and a grandmother who let a teenager “rot to death” in his own bed have been convicted of manslaughter.

Jordan Burling was said to have resembled the victim of a Second World War death camp when paramedics found him lying lifelessly on the makeshift bed, weighing just 6st (38kg).

As a result of barely moving for weeks, he was covered in bed sores, and was wearing a soiled nappy when he died from acute bronchopneumonia at his home in the Farnley area of Leeds in June 2016.

Yesterday, a jury at Leeds Crown Court convicted his 45-year-old mother Dawn Cranston of manslaughter, as well as his grandmother, Denise Cranston, 70.

Mr Burling’s 25-year-old sister, Abigail Burling, was found not guilty of manslaughter, but guilty of an alternative charge of causing or allowing the death of a vulnerable person. During the five-week trial, Nicholas Lumley QC, the prosecutor, told jurors: “Jordan had been allowed to decay, to rot to death, by those closest to him, over a period of, at least, several weeks.”

Bridget Shepherd, a paramedic, claimed the dying man looked “very, very pale and very emaciated” when she first attempted to treat him on the day of his death.

A series of witnesses claimed that the 18-yearold’s mother “did not seem bothered” as medics attempted to revive him with CPR, whilst Denise Cranston supposedly remained seated in a nearby armchair.

Dawn Cranston was even heard telling a 999 operator that his unresponsive state was a “blessing” as it meant she would not have to go work that day.

The three were bailed ahead of sentencing tomorrow morning at Leeds Crown Court.