Girl had broken bones for two weeks, murder trial hears

Isabella Wheildon had injuries an expert admitted they had never seen before

A two-year-old girl found dead in Ipswich had lived with broken bones for up to two weeks before she died, a court heard today.

Isabella Wheildon’s mother Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell and Scott Jeff, both 24, are on trial for her murder at Ipswich Crown Court, a charge they both deny.

Isabella was found dead at a temporary housing unit in Sidegate Lane, Ipswich, on 30 June 2023, where she lived with her mother and Mr Jeff.

Osteoarticular pathologist Anthony Freemont, who gave expert evidence on Monday, said in his 40-year career he had not encountered pelvic injuries “of this degree”.

He told the jury in the trial, which is expected to last up to 8 weeks, that he found injuries that had occurred on three separate occasions.

He estimated fractures to Isabella’s pelvis occurred between six and 24 hours prior to her death, and her wrists were also refractured during that time.

The professor went on to add that, in his opinion, the original fractures in Isabella’s wrists occurred between eight and 14 days prior to her death.

Scott Jeff had been living with Ms Gleason-Mitchell and Isabella in hotels in Norfolk before arriving in Ipswich

There were other fractures in the same areas of her body that he estimated happened between two and four days prior to death.

Speaking about the injuries to her pelvis, Mr Freemont told the court: “There is a classification system for child fractures.

"These fractures came out as severe fractures."

He continued: “This type of severity is seen most commonly in high impact fractures, such as a child being hit by a motor vehicle or falling from height onto their legs.

“Even in children falling 15ft you do not get fractures very often.”

He said the impact to the pelvis appeared to be “front to back”, meaning the child was likely to have been up against a hard surface such as having her back to a wall or lying on the floor.

Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell's family home was in the Biggleswade area of Bedfordshire

The trial previously heard how the toddler had been dead for a number of days before police found her.

The jury heard how Ms Gleason-Mitchell exchanged messages with a friend that said she did not want to contact police because they might “get done” for the murder.

Both she and Mr Jeff have denied murder.

Ms Gleason-Mitchell has admitted to causing or allowing the death of a child and child cruelty, charges which Mr Jeff has denied.

The trial continues.