Mother and boyfriend guilty of murdering her two-year-old daughter

A mother and her boyfriend have been convicted of murdering her two-year-old daughter - who was sexually abused before she suffered a catastrophic head injury.

Isabelle Rose Welsh collapsed at her home in Thornaby, Teesside, on 13 September last year after suffering a "massive head injury", a court previously heard.

Her mother, Alexandra Walker, 26, and partner Harrison Simpson, 22, were on trial for murder, allowing the death of a child, sexual assault and child cruelty - they denied all charges.

The pair were also convicted of child cruelty. Simpson was convicted of sexual assault on the toddler, while Walker was cleared of that charge.

'Campaign of violence'

On 13 September last year, paramedics responded to a 999 call and found Isabelle at the foot of the stairs, without a pulse and gravely ill.

As Isabelle was dying, Walker delayed ringing 999 despite Googling "why would my toddler be bleeding", and she smoked a cigarette in her kitchen.

She first called her step-father to come round and it was only on his instruction that she finally alerted the emergency services.

Paramedics arrived within a minute and found bruises all over the girl's body, which was cold to the touch, including to her head, neck, abdomen, back and private parts; there was blood in her nappy and sick on her face.

She was taken to hospital but died the next day.

A post mortem examination found that Isabelle had suffered 21 broken bones in the weeks leading up to her death.

Experts told the jury that Isabelle had been shaken and her head impacted against a wall or the floor.

Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, had said that: "For weeks this child had been violently assaulted and her death, by that terrible head injury, was simply the end point in that campaign of violence to which she had been subjected."

During her short relationship with Simpson, she voiced concerns that he might be a paedophile, and thought it was "weird" that he preferred to see her and Isabelle at the same time, rather than be alone with his girlfriend.

But Walker did not break up with him, even though she was suspicious enough to check if he was on the Sex Offenders' Register.

'Looks like she is being abused'

Just 11 days before her fatal collapse, Isabelle was taken to her GP and then to hospital with a broken leg.

Despite the misgivings of some staff, she was discharged to her mother, who had shown aggression towards medics - claiming that Isabelle must have hurt her leg when it got caught in her cot.

On that occasion, Walker had waited two weeks to seek medical help for Isabelle, despite the toddler being in pain and struggling to walk.

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Walker had suffered from domestic violence previously and she had two cameras installed in her home, with one overlooking the back of the house that captured evidence reflected in a window.

The camera showed how Walker was a frequent drinker, sometimes downing up to 10 cans of Stella Artois, and Simpson was a habitual cannabis smoker.

Walker's concerned mother said "looks like she is being abused" during one visit after Isabelle's leg was broken.

The night when Isabelle was fatally injured, the couple stayed up late, with Walker drinking cans of lager and Simpson smoking cannabis.

The next morning Simpson got up - claiming to be looking after Isabelle - while Walker stayed in bed.

Ms Justice Norton thanked the jury for their work on such a "difficult" case and said the pair would be sentenced on Thursday.

(c) Sky News 2026: Mother and boyfriend guilty of murdering her two-year-old daughter