Man punished toddler with cold showers, court told

Isabella Wheildon lived with her mother and Scott Jeff in a tent on the beach in Great Yarmouth, the court has heard

A mother accused of killing her two-year-old daughter has told jurors that she saw her partner attacking her child and punishing her with cold showers.

Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell and former partner Scott Jeff, both 24, are accused of the murder of her daughter Isabella Wheildon.

The toddler’s body was found in a pram in a property in Sidegate Lane, Ipswich, on June 30 2023, but she is believed to have died days previously.

Ms Gleason-Mitchell told Ipswich Crown Court that Mr Jeff started hitting her daughter when they were staying in a hotel in Norfolk earlier that month.

Isabella's body was found dead in a locked bathroom in a temporary housing unit in Ipswich

During cross examination by Mr Jeff's legal team, Ms Gleason-Mitchell said he assaulted her daughter on a number of occasions, as well as putting her in a cold shower as punishment, in the weeks before her death.

She said some of the abuse centred around potty training with Mr Jeff frequently becoming angry with her daughter.

“I didn’t think he’d be like that all the time," she explained.

“He was wanting drugs - I thought it was a phase because he wasn’t getting drugs.”

The two-year-old and her mother previously lived in Bedfordshire

Ms Gleason-Mitchell also admitted lying to police.

Before being housed in Ipswich last June, Ms Gleason-Mitchell and Mr Jeff were living in a tent on the beach in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, with Isabella.

While there, they told police officers and bar staff they had escaped life in Bedfordshire because of Isabella’s father’s behaviour, the court heard.

Ms Gleason-Mitchell told her trial this was untrue, claiming to have also told "a few lies" throughout the interview process about Isabella’s father, Thomas Wheildon.

Christopher Paxton KC said Ms Gleason-Mitchell’s claims against his client were "lies" and the timeline of alleged attacks had changed up to three times.

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

Ms Gleason-Mitchell admitted she had a "bad side" and that she "heard voices".

She added: "A different voice comes in my head and tells me 'don’t get help', don’t do this' - it tells me things that I shouldn’t do."

Mr Paxton KC asked: "You hear voices, is that what you’re saying?"

“Yes I do," Ms Gleason-Mitchell replied.

Mr Paxton asked: "Is that why Isabella was covered in bruises because of your bad side?"

"No, I loved my daughter to pieces," she replied.

Ms Gleason-Mitchell previously admitted to causing or allowing her daughter's death, but denies murder.

Mr Jeff, 24, denies causing or allowing Isabella's death, and murder.

The trial continues.