American mother of fat child found guilty of neglect

An American woman whose thirteen-year old daughter died of heart failure weighing more than a quarter of a ton has been found guilty of child neglect.

Prosecutors said the mother, Marlene Corrigan, was charged because of the condition the girl was in at the time of her death: she was covered in sores and sitting in her own excrement.

The mother had argued that her daughter had an illness which meant that she constantly put on weight and the case had only come to court because society was prejudiced against fat people.

Sentence has not yet been set but Mrs Corrigan could face up to a year in jail.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service