A TODDLER suffered an “escalating regime of brutality” at the hands of her mum’s lover before her body was found under a blanket in the shower, a court was told.
The body of Isabella Rose Wheildon was discovered in a temporary housing unit in Ipswich on June 30 last year.
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Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell pleaded guilty to causing the death of her daughter Isabella
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A two-year-old girl was found locked in the bathroom in a stroller
The two-year-old suffered multiple fractures and soft tissue injuries allegedly caused by 24-year-old Scott Jeff stomping or kicking her.
Her mother, Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, 24, pleaded guilty to causing or allowing her daughter’s death, but denies murder.
Ipswich Crown Court was told that a nursery nurse allegedly allowed her death to happen by “standing by, watching and doing nothing”.
Jurors heard that little Isabella had been dead for days before her body was found under a blanket in the shower.
The discovery was made when a woman reported to the police on June 30 that she had received a message on Facebook from “her friend”.
Prosecutor Sally Howes KC said: “That message revealed that her friend’s daughter had died in her sleep three days earlier and was in a pram in the bathroom.
– That friend was the first accused Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, and her daughter Isabella.
An autopsy found that Isabella had “extensive external traumatic injuries to the soft tissues of the body, including the head, neck, torso, limbs” and other areas.
She also suffered fractures to both wrists and a “complex pelvic fracture involving several bones.”
The cause of her death was listed as “bone marrow embolism caused by skeletal trauma.”
The court heard that this “severe” damage to her pelvis was likely caused by “either being kicked or pounded or both”.
Ms Howes said: “The prosecution say Isabella Wheildon was a healthy, happy, well-cared-for girl until Scott Jeff came into her young life.
“At the end of May 2023, he entered into a relationship with Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell.
“From that time until her death, Isabella was subjected to a regime of escalating brutality that was callous, cruel and ultimately fatal.”
The prosecutor said Isabella’s “own mother Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell stood by, watched, did nothing and let this happen.”
Gleason-Mitchell and Jeff lived together in hotels in Great Yarmouth, a caravan park and “camped in a very small tent on Caister Beach” in Norfolk before ending up in Ipswich.
A mum has told Great Yarmouth Borough Council that she and her daughter are “homeless” and fleeing domestic abuse from their ex.
She also falsely claimed that Jeff was Isabella’s biological father and was refused a home by Bedfordshire Council for her and the child because she wanted to stay with her partner.
The pair were arrested on July 1 last year, with Jeff claiming he “never at any time assaulted or committed any unlawful act in relation to Isabella”.
Jurors heard he also claimed he “started noticing bruises on her face” and “raised concerns with my partner who suggested the marks were nothing to worry about”.
Gleason-Mitchell, meanwhile, told officers she “didn’t kill her daughter and thinks she was killed by the damage that Scott Jeff did to her.”
She also said the “violence started” when potty training issues arose and claimed Jeff would hit Isabella if she said she was a “mama’s girl”.
Jeff denied causing or allowing Isabella’s death and murder.
Gleason-Mitchell has pleaded guilty to causing or allowing the death of a child, but denies murder.
The trial, which will last up to eight weeks, continues.
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Scott Jeff denied killing the toddler
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Isabella’s cause of death has not been determined
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Source: HIS Education