A two-year-old girl suffered 21 broken bones and 97 soft tissue injuries in the weeks leading up to her death from a fatal head injury, Teesside Crown Court has heard. Isabelle Welsh died on September 14 last year at her home in Thornaby, Teesside. Her mother, Alexandra Walker, 25, and her boyfriend, Harrison Simpson, 22, deny charges of murder, assault by penetration, allowing the death of a child, and child cruelty. The prosecution alleges the pair engaged in a "campaign of violence" against Isabelle.
Jurors were shown video footage of Isabelle playing happily at home in the weeks before her death. One clip shows her leaping around on a sofa, while another depicts her running and laughing in a garden with a red witch's hat.
According to the prosecution, Isabelle's life changed significantly within days of the second clip being filmed, when she allegedly became the subject of prolonged abuse, injury, and neglect by Simpson and Walker. The court heard that in one instance, Isabelle suffered a broken leg while left alone with Simpson. Medical attention was not sought for two weeks, during which time her condition reportedly worsened.
Isabelle was found motionless at the foot of the stairs by paramedics. A post-mortem examination revealed she had suffered a catastrophic head injury, consistent with being hit against a hard surface, which stopped her heart. Pathologists also found evidence of multiple broken bones, internal tears from violent sexual assaults, and soft tissue injuries indicating she had been tightly held and shaken, and possibly swung by a limb.
The court heard that Walker waited nearly an hour before calling emergency services as Isabelle lay dying. It is alleged that she Googled "Why would my toddler be bleeding?" while smoking a cigarette. The jury was told that emergency services were only called after her stepfather arrived and insisted.
Isabelle's maternal grandmother, Claire Walker, provided an interview to detectives following her granddaughter's death, which was played to the jury. She described Isabelle as chatty and intelligent and stated that the child had been in good health before sustaining the broken leg. She also recounted visiting her daughter and Isabelle after the hospital visit for the broken leg and noticing a bruise on Isabelle's back, for which her daughter allegedly provided an explanation of bumping her head. Claire Walker also testified that she had never met Simpson, who had been dating Alexandra Walker for only a few months, and that her daughter had explained he had anxiety and did not want to meet her.
Isabelle's mother, Alexandra Walker, is on trial at Teesside Crown Court, accused of her daughter's murder. 
