Teesside mother and partner jailed for murder of 2-year-old daughter
A mother and her new boyfriend have been jailed for life for murdering her two-year-old daughter, who was sexually abused before she suffered a catastrophic head injury
Last updated 11 hours ago
A Teesside mother and her new boyfriend have been jailed for life for murdering her two-year-old daughter, who was sexually abused before she suffered a catastrophic head injury.
Isabelle Welsh suffered 21 broken bones in the weeks before she collapsed at her home in Thornaby, Teesside, last September.
Earlier this week, her mother, Alexandra Walker, 26, and Harrison Simpson, 22, were convicted of murder and child cruelty, with Simpson also convicted of sexual assault, after almost 7 hours of deliberations by a jury at Teesside Crown Court.
Today Walker was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 22 years, while Simpson was given life with minimum 28 and a half years.
Experts told the jury that Isabelle had been shaken and her head impacted against a wall or the floor.
Kirstie Devine, of the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “The prosecution presented a raft of evidence including pathology reports, expert medical evidence, CCTV from the home, records of text messages and phone conversations that showed only the two adults who were regularly with Isabelle could have harmed her.”
Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Steve Chatterton of Cleveland Police, said: “Isabelle suffered catastrophic injuries at the hands of the very people who should have loved her, cared for her and protected her.
“Her life was cruelly taken in the most tragic and heart-breaking circumstances.”