A mother has been left devastated after her partner was found guilty of murdering her two-year-old daughter.
Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, 24, was cleared of murder, but she admitted to allowing her daughter’s death.
Her boyfriend, Scott Jeff, 24, was convicted of murdering little Isabella Wheildon, who was brutally abused before her death in June 2023.
The trial, which lasted six weeks at Ipswich Crown Court, revealed the shocking abuse Isabella suffered. Jeff, who had been living with the mother and child, repeatedly beat the toddler, causing serious injuries.
He punished Isabella with cold showers for potty training accidents and used violence to control her.
Gleason-Mitchell, a nursery nurse, watched as her partner attacked her daughter but did nothing to stop it.
She admitted to being afraid of Jeff and felt trapped in the relationship. She said she didn’t intervene because she didn’t know how to protect Isabella from the ongoing abuse.
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Three days after Isabella died, the mother and her boyfriend were seen pushing her lifeless body around in a pushchair.
They tried to cover up the tragedy, taking the child’s body out in public while claiming she was alive. It wasn’t until a friend of Gleason-Mitchell alerted the police that authorities investigated the situation.
When police arrived at their temporary home in Ipswich, they discovered Isabella’s body in a locked bathroom, covered in bruises and injuries.
A post-mortem examination revealed multiple fractures, bruising, and other signs of abuse.
The little girl had been subjected to months of cruelty, with some injuries dating back to weeks before her death.
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Scott Jeff has been convicted of murder and child cruelty, while Gleason-Mitchell faces charges related to her failure to protect Isabella. Jeff is set to be sentenced in December.
The case has left the community in shock, raising questions about how such a tragedy could go unnoticed for so long.
