Paedophile Harrison Simpson and Alexandra Walker jailed for life for murdering two-year-old Isabelle Welsh

A woman and her boyfriend have been jailed for life for murdering her two-year-old daughter after weeks of abuse.

Harrison Simpson, 22, and Alexandra Walker, 26, were jailed at Teesside Crown Court with minimum terms of 28 years and 22 years respectively on Thursday.

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

Walker and Simpson were convicted of murder and child cruelty, while Simpson was also found guilty of sexually assaulting the toddler.

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

The court was told that as Isabelle was dying, Walker smoked a cigarette in her kitchen and delayed ringing 999 despite Googling "why would my toddler be bleeding".

She called her stepfather to come round and it was only on his instruction that she finally rang emergency services.

Paramedics found Isabelle at the foot of the stairs without a pulse.

There were bruises all over her body, including to her head, neck, abdomen, back and private parts; there was blood in her nappy and sick on her face.

Isabelle was taken to hospital but died the next day.

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

Paedophile suspicions

Prosecutor Richard Wright KC said the toddler suffered weeks of assaults and the head injury "was simply the end point in that campaign of violence".

Eleven 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 after Walker claimed she must have hurt it when she got caught in her cot.

The court heard Walker had delayed getting her daughter checked out for about two weeks.

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Walker had been in a short relationship with Simpson, and suspected he might be a paedophile. He preferred to see them both at the same time and would bathe Isabelle without her permission.

But she didn't break up with him, even though she was suspicious enough to check the Sex Offenders' Register.

Security cameras in the home also showed Walker was a frequent drinker, sometimes drinking up to 10 cans of Stella Artois, while Simpson was a habitual cannabis smoker.

(c) Sky News 2026: Paedophile Harrison Simpson and Alexandra Walker jailed for life for murdering two-year-old Isab