A mother who Googled “why would my toddler be bleeding” instead of calling for help has been jailed for life for the murder of her two-year-old daughter. Alexandra Walker, 26, was sentenced to a minimum of 22 years at Teesside Crown Court for killing Isabelle Welsh.
Abuse and Delayed Help
Isabelle suffered weeks of abuse, including 21 broken bones, before collapsing at her home in Thornaby, Teesside, in September. Walker and her boyfriend Harrison Simpson, 22, were convicted of murder and child cruelty. Simpson was also found guilty of sexually assaulting Isabelle, while Walker was cleared of that charge.
The court heard that even after Isabelle collapsed and was dying, Walker delayed calling 999. Internal CCTV showed her smoking a cigarette in the kitchen. It was only when her stepfather arrived that an ambulance was called. Paramedics found Isabelle covered in bruises and blood in her nappy. She died in hospital the next day.
Judge's Remarks
Sentencing the pair, Ms Justice Norton said they inflicted the injuries and failed to get Isabelle medical help “even though it was obvious that she needed it.” The judge described Walker as a “fantasist and an attention-seeker” who lied about being more educated, having breast cancer, and not taking drugs when she actually sold them. On the night of the murder, Walker drank 10 cans of Stella Artois.
The judge added: “I have no doubt whatsoever that your lack of urgency or concern for your child was because you wrongly believed that Isabelle was already dead, and you were working out what to do to save your own skin.”
Isabelle sustained an unsurvivable head injury in the 24 hours before her death and was sexually assaulted around the time of the fatal blow. Simpson received a life sentence with a minimum of 28 years and six months.
