An outstanding warrant for Harrison Simpson's arrest was issued in March 2024, but officers never detained him. About 18 months later, the 22-year-old murdered and sexually assaulted his girlfriend's two-year-old daughter, Isabelle Welsh.
Isabelle suffered weeks of abuse, including 21 broken bones, before collapsing at her home in Thornaby, Teesside, in September last year. She died in hospital after sustaining an unsurvivable head injury.
Simpson and the girl's mother, Alexandra Walker, 26, were convicted of murder and child cruelty at Teesside Crown Court. Simpson was also found guilty of sexually assaulting Isabelle, while Walker was acquitted of that charge.
Arrest warrant failure
The warrant had been issued by Teesside Magistrates' Court after Simpson failed to attend court for breaching a non-molestation order, an injunction designed to protect domestic abuse victims. The order was put in place after reports that Simpson had harassed and threatened a woman.
Cleveland Police admitted the warrant was never executed. The force said: "Multiple enquiries and arrest attempts were carried out to try to locate and arrest him, but these proved unsuccessful."
In a statement, the force added: "We recognise the time Simpson had an outstanding arrest warrant is far from adequate. A review of this was immediately conducted upon his arrest for murder." It said the review has led to changes including improved visibility of outstanding warrants, a comprehensive data system to track them, and oversight from a governance group led by a superintendent.
Court outcome
Ms Justice Norton said Isabelle's murder was the final act in a sustained campaign of violence, which the pair then attempted to cover up. She jailed Simpson for life with a minimum term of 28 years and six months, and Walker for life with a minimum of 22 years, both minus time spent on remand.
The judge said: "Any death is a tragedy. The death of a very young child at the hands of those who should have cared for, protected, and loved her – as she no doubt loved them – is particularly distressing for all involved."
Relationship and suspicions
Simpson and Walker met on Facebook Dating last summer, and Simpson became a regular visitor to the home where Walker and Isabelle lived. Walker voiced concerns that Simpson might be a paedophile and thought it "weird" that he preferred to see her and Isabelle at the same time, rather than being alone with her.
Despite those suspicions, which led her to check whether Simpson was on the Sex Offenders' Register, Walker did not end the relationship.
Prosecution case
Prosecutor Paul Abrahams told the court: "This was a campaign of quite deliberate extreme violence."
The judge noted that the toddler sustained an unsurvivable head injury in the 24 hours before she died in hospital, and was sexually assaulted around the time the fatal blow was inflicted.
