Matthew Langley: Callous Sheffield couple Lorna and Craig Hewitt jailed for locking autistic son in attic room

A callous Sheffield couple who kept their autistic son locked in an attic bedroom and let him ‘waste away’ have both been jailed for six years.
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Matthew Langley’s mother and stepfather, Lorna and Craig Hewitt, were last month found guilty of falsely imprisoning and causing him, a vulnerable person, serious harm or injury, following a trial at Sheffield Crown Court.

Sending the pair to begin their sentence today, Friday, February 18, Judge Michael Slater told Lorna: “This was a grave abuse of trust by a mother to her son.”

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He added: “You were the primary carer for Matthew, with his challenges and difficulties, and it makes it all the more inexplicable that for those seven months you failed to provide him with the support and provision of food and drink that he craved and needed.”

Lorna Hewitt, 43, pictured leaving Sheffield Crown CourtLorna Hewitt, 43, pictured leaving Sheffield Crown Court
Lorna Hewitt, 43, pictured leaving Sheffield Crown Court

The court was told how an ambulance was called to the Hewitts’ home in Walkley Road, Walkley, in the early hours of June 2, 2020, where Matthew Langley was found seriously underweight and dehydrated with his life hanging in the balance.

Mr Langley who is autistic and has suffered with irritable bowel syndrome, incontinence, arthritis and learning difficulties, weighed only 39kg when he was found, but seven months before in November, 2019, he had weighed 53.6kg.

Judge Slater said the pair ‘effectively turned off’ Mr Langley’s care in November 2019, and allowed him to ‘waste away in his bedroom’ for the next seven months, with the door to his room locked for much of that time.

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He said Mr Langley, 22, must have spent those ‘long seven months…experiencing feelings of anxiety, confusion, hunger and lonliness’.

A jury found Craig Hewitt and his wife Lorna guilty of false imprisonment and causing or allowing a vulnerable adult to suffer serious harmA jury found Craig Hewitt and his wife Lorna guilty of false imprisonment and causing or allowing a vulnerable adult to suffer serious harm
A jury found Craig Hewitt and his wife Lorna guilty of false imprisonment and causing or allowing a vulnerable adult to suffer serious harm

Mr Langley crawled around on his hands and knees during the time he spent locked in his room, in ‘conditions of abject squalor and filth’.

Police revealed they had found faeces and vomit in Mr Langley’s attic bedroom over the floor and bedding, along with buzzing flies, a bad smell and a key on the outside of the door.

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Judge Slater commended medical staff at Northern General Hospital for their 'incredible efforts' to save Mr Langley, who, at the time of his admission, 'looked doomed not to survive'.

Craig and Lorna Hewitt kept their autistic son locked in their attic, and neglected him so badly he looked 'doomed not to survive' when he was rushed to hospital in June 2020Craig and Lorna Hewitt kept their autistic son locked in their attic, and neglected him so badly he looked 'doomed not to survive' when he was rushed to hospital in June 2020
Craig and Lorna Hewitt kept their autistic son locked in their attic, and neglected him so badly he looked 'doomed not to survive' when he was rushed to hospital in June 2020

He was admitted to hospital with severe malnourishment and dehydration, and the court was told how an expert dietician at the hospital said he had never seen a malnourishment case as severe as Mr Langley’s.

He also needed to be cleaned before he could be treated, something an experienced nurse at the hospital described as ‘unprecendented’.

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Mr Langley was said to have made a full physical recovery by August 2020, but the pyschological impact of his abuse could not be ascertained by the court at the time of the Hewitts’ sentencing hearing.

Judge Slater determined that both Craig, 42, and Lorna played equal roles and their ‘joint behaviour’ had caused the ‘deliberate and unreasonable’ false imprisonment and neglect of Mr Langley.

Judge Slater told Lorna Hewitt, 43: "This was a grave abuse of trust by a mother to her son."Judge Slater told Lorna Hewitt, 43: "This was a grave abuse of trust by a mother to her son."
Judge Slater told Lorna Hewitt, 43: "This was a grave abuse of trust by a mother to her son."

Representing Craig, Tana Adkin QC said her client was not a ‘deliberately cruel man’ and his role within the household had been as the breadwinner.

She added that while Craig was ‘clearly responsible for Mr Langley’s deterioration’ he had not intended for him to end up in that condition.

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This was rejected by Judge Slater who said Mr Langley’s neglect had not occurred through recklessness but as a result of a ‘deliberate’ decision.

“I’m satisfied that nothing in that house happened without you knowing about it or approving it,” he said.

Defending Lorna, John Harrison QC, referred to a report prepared by clinical psychologist Rekha Davis who concluded that Lorna was an ‘emotionally vulnerable woman’ who was susceptible to manipulation and exploitation.

After observing her giving evidence, Judge Slater said he regarded Lorna, 43, as someone who was ‘capable of standing up for herself’.