A mother and her boyfriend have been jailed for the murder of a two-year-old girl who suffered 21 separate bone breaks and was sexually abused. Isabelle Rose Welsh died after being rushed to hospital with a severe head injury.
Court verdict
At Teesside Crown Court, Alexandra Walker, 25, and Harrison Simpson, 21, were found guilty of murder and causing/allowing the death of a child. Simpson was also convicted of sexually abusing the toddler. Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, said Walker delayed calling 999 as her daughter lay dying because she feared being confronted about the child’s horrific injuries.
Isabelle was found to have suffered 21 separate broken bones in the weeks leading up to her collapse. The day before she died, the defendants had been up late drinking and smoking cannabis, Wright said.
Events leading to death
On September 13, 2025, Simpson was in sole care of Isabelle while Walker stayed in bed. He later put her to bed and left the property around 3pm. Within 10 minutes, Walker googled “Why would my toddler be bleeding”. Internal CCTV recorded her saying “You're scaring me” and then she searched “what should I do if my child has blood in his stool”. Wright said: “It is absolutely obvious that by this time Isabelle is gravely ill. She is quite simply dying. And yet, despite the searches on Google, Alexandra Walker does nothing.”
Around an hour after Simpson left, Walker called her stepfather. He arrived at about 4.15pm and immediately told her to call 999. Paramedics arrived within a minute, and Isabelle was taken to hospital but died in the early hours of the next day.
Injuries and abuse
A post mortem revealed that her skull was fractured, her brain damaged, and she had been sexually assaulted. Experts told the jury that Isabelle had been shaken and her head impacted against a wall or floor. Earlier that month, Walker had taken Isabelle to hospital after a broken tibia, claiming she had hurt herself by poking her leg through the cot.
Wright said: “In due course you may want to consider why there was very significant delay in summoning the emergency services. One explanation of course is that Alexandra Walker knew that this time she would not be able to bluff and bluster her way out of the very difficult questions that she knew she would be asked at hospital.”
Relationship and evidence
Walker and Simpson had met on Facebook Dating earlier in summer 2025. Walker had domestic violence cameras installed in her home. CCTV showed she was a frequent drinker and Simpson a habitual cannabis smoker. The footage also proved Isabelle suffered a broken leg while in Simpson's sole care.
In interviews, Walker initially said Simpson was her new partner of one month and that she had raised concerns about bruises but he denied responsibility. She later said she realised Simpson had been abusing her daughter. Simpson did not answer questions.
Wright told the court: “They both knew exactly what had happened to Isabelle because in the weeks before her death they had each subjected her to violence culminating in the infliction of that terrible, fatal head injury. … The failure to take her to hospital for days after her leg had been broken and the significant delay in calling 999 on the 13th is evidence of the fact that both were responsible for and aware of a series of violent assaults that they wanted to keep away from medical scrutiny if at all possible.”
Sentencing and tribute
After almost seven hours of deliberations, the jury convicted Simpson unanimously and Walker by a majority of 11 to one of murder. They also convicted the pair of child cruelty. Ms Justice Norton thanked the jury and will pass sentence on Thursday morning.
In a tribute, Isabelle's family said: “She was always full of smiles. Isabelle loved to watch Peppa Pig as that was her comfort show. She also loved her dummies and dancing.” Her father, Josh Welsh, said: “My little girl… my whole life has been shattered, my whole family. … It means the world to me that we have justice for Isabelle.”
