As her daughter lay dying in a bedroom
without food or water, Sabrina Hirst talked on the phone of her pet dog's
feeding problems.
Police said this epitomised the behaviour of the callous mother, who allowed
three-year-old Tiffany Wright to suffer in "abject squalor and degradation".
The 22-year-old was told she had "failed utterly" in her parental
responsibilities to her daughter.
Her behaviour contributed to what the judge in the case said was probably the
worst case of child manslaughter "there can be".
Tiffany died of malnutrition in an insect-infested room covered in dog faeces
at the Scarborough Arms pub, in Upperthorpe, Sheffield.
I cannot describe the hate that I feel inside me, not just for these two
people, but also for their close family
Martin Wright, father
Tiffany's mother was jailed for 12 years after admitting manslaughter.
Her stepfather Robert Hirst, 44, was jailed for five years for child cruelty.
The conditions in which Tiffany died in September last year were so horrific
that Sheffield Recorder Judge Alan Goldsack QC said he was surprised the Crown
Prosecution Service (CPS) had not pressed ahead with a murder charge.
Tiffany's natural father Martin Wright said he could not describe the "hate
he felt inside" towards the Hirsts for the way his daughter was neglected.
'Long course of neglect'
"Unlike some cases involving child cruelty, neither of you have learning or
other difficulties which might at least in part explain the situation," the
judge told the couple.
He said Tiffany's mother had nine good grade GCSEs and went on to study A
levels.
"That you either did not know she was dead or, if you did, chose not to
report her death until much later is the most potent evidence of the way you
both failed utterly in your parental responsibilities to your daughter," the
judge told the Hirsts.
As a father it's one of the most harrowing cases I've been involved with
Acting Det Ch Insp Dave Powell
"The evidence which has emerged is that Tiffany's death was the culmination
of a long course of neglect by the pair of you."
The couple often left Tiffany unattended and locked in the living quarters.
Social services had warned Mrs Hirst to stop doing this but she had brushed
their concerns aside, the court heard.
The judge said: "One almost unbelievable piece of evidence is that on what
was probably Tiffany's last day alive you, Sabrina Hirst, were discussing on
the phone concerns you had about one of your dogs' weight and feeding
problems.
Robert Hirst told his wife they would get "banged up"
"In my judgment all those factors make this about as bad a case of child
manslaughter as there can be."
He told the court Mrs Hirst would have been jailed for at least 22 years if
she had been convicted of murder after a trial.
Speaking after the case, Tiffany's natural father Martin Wright said he could
not believe the Hirsts had let his daughter lie starving in filth as they were
"gorging on food just a few feet away".
"I cannot describe the hate that I feel inside me, not just for these two
people, but also for their close family who were supposed to have been there
on a regular basis, who could not have failed to see the condition she was
living in yet did nothing," he said.
"This tiny girl's life has been tragically taken away at such a young age
when she should have been playing and having fun like any child that age."
Acting Det Ch Insp Dave Powell said: "As a father it's one of the most
harrowing cases I've been involved with."
He said a full inquiry was under way into whether social services or any
other organisation were at fault in the case
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