A mother and her new boyfriend have been convicted of murdering her two-year-old daughter, who was sexually abused before suffering a catastrophic head injury. Isabelle Welsh was found dead at the foot of the stairs at the home she shared with mum Alexandra Walker, 26, in Thornaby, Teesside, last September.
Convictions and charges
Alexandra and Harrison Simpson, 22, denied murder, allowing the death of a child, sexual assault and child cruelty. However, after almost seven hours of deliberations, a jury at Teesside Crown Court unanimously convicted Simpson and Walker, by a majority of 11 to one, of murder. The pair were also convicted of child cruelty and Simpson of sexual assault on the toddler, while Walker was cleared of that charge.
Prosecution details
Jurors at Teesside Crown Court were previously told that the toddler’s body was ‘covered in bruises’ – especially her head, neck, abdomen, back, as well as her genitals and bottom. Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, said: ‘Isabelle’s death was not the result of some form of naturally occurring illness. She died because shortly before her terminal collapse somebody had inflicted a massive head injury upon her. Her skull had been fractured, her brain had been injured, and her heart had stopped as a result of that assault upon her.’
Relationship and sentencing
The couple had started dating barely three months earlier, and Simpson soon became a regular visitor to Walker’s home, spending ‘a lot of time’ with the little girl, the court heard. Mr Wright said the couple had an ‘unhealthy’ relationship in which alcohol and drugs were a feature, and this led to the decline of Isabelle’s care before she was ‘subjected to regular violence at home by these defendants’. Ms Justice Norton thanked the jury for their work on such a ‘difficult’ case. She will pass sentence on Thursday morning.
