A 19-year-old man has been found guilty of murdering his partner's four-month-old son, Elijah Shemwell, by shaking him in January 2022. Carl Alesbrook, who was 16 at the time, was convicted unanimously at Derby Crown Court after a trial that heard the baby suffered brain damage, fractures and whiplash-type injuries.
The court heard that Alesbrook shook Elijah on three separate occasions, with the fatal assault occurring when he was left alone with the infant at the home of the baby's mother, India Shemwell, in Belper, Derbyshire. Elijah died at Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham after going into cardiac arrest.
Alesbrook was also found guilty of two counts of causing grievous bodily harm relating to earlier attacks that caused bleeding on the brain and multiple bone fractures. The prosecution, led by Vanessa Marshall KC, said Alesbrook resorted to shaking the baby when he could not stop him crying, lacking the maturity to walk away.
India Shemwell, now 23, admitted two counts of child cruelty, including failing to dial emergency services promptly. The court heard she sent a video of Elijah unresponsive with a floppy arm to friends on Facebook and filmed him struggling to breathe before calling 999 on 2 January. Marshall described Shemwell as 'a thoroughly inadequate mother' who neglected Elijah.
The jury was shown messages from Alesbrook expressing jealousy over Shemwell's continued relationship with Elijah's father. Alesbrook, who had been living at a care home and regularly smoking cannabis, denied being in love with Shemwell or jealous. His mother testified that he lacked the maturity to care for a baby at 16.
Alesbrook and Shemwell will be sentenced on a date to be fixed.
