Isabella Wheildon murder trial: Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell described fear of ‘being killed’ if she intervened in abuse, Ipswich Crown Court hears

A young mother accused of murdering her own daughter in Ipswich has described her fear of ‘being killed’ if she intervened in alleged abuse, a court has heard.

The trial of Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell and Scott Jeff, both 24 and of no fixed address, but formerly of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, continues at Ipswich Crown Court.

The couple stand accused of the murder of two-year-old Isabella Wheildon, after her body was discovered at East Villa, a council-run temporary housing unit in Sidegate Lane on June 30, 2023.

They were arrested in Mustow Street, Bury St Edmunds, July 1, 2023, and were taken to Martlesham Police Investigation Centre for questioning.

Alex Kettle-Williams, prosecuting, said that Jeff submitted two statements to police, where he denied hitting Isabella, suggesting her death was due to ‘unforeseen natural causes’.

He said he expressed concern over markings and bruises on Isabella’s body, although he ‘accepted Chelsea’s explanations that they were nothing to worry about’.

His second statement said that, should a post-mortem examination – which had not been completed at this stage – find she died due to physical abuse, it was not due to his actions.

He also denied abuse on Gleason-Mitchell’s behalf, although he alleged she once hit Isabella with a shoe.

During a police interview, however, Gleason-Mitchell said her partner (Jeff) would beat Isabella ‘for anything’ and that she lost count of how many times it happened.

Sally Howes KC, prosecuting, read out Gleason-Mitchell’s police interview to the jury.

It read: “So my partner, he used to beat her, used to hit her, punch her in the head, from head to toe, she was covered in bruises and I just had to watch it.

“Every time I got up he used to push me down. I was scared. You could tell she wanted to tell me something, but she couldn't. I knew she was trying to tell me something, but I couldn't understand what she was trying to tell me.”

In addition to beating Isabella, Gleason-Mitchell alleged Jeff used to place her into a cold shower. The court previously heard the abuse began while they were staying in Great Yarmouth.

Gleason-Mitchell later said she heard Isabella struggling to breathe at 11.30pm one night, sounding as though she had a blocked nose. She, and later Jeff, tried CPR, but she ‘went floppy’.

The court previously heard that Gleason-Mitchell, in three different statements, gave three different dates for Isabella’s death.

Gleason-Mitchell told officers that she couldn’t move to help her daughter as she ‘thought she’d be killed’.

She said she couldn’t call emergency services as her ‘phone was broken’ – although one was seized when she was arrested.

Gleason-Mitchell’s statement continued: “She was hit everywhere… he was hitting her that much she was getting soft spots.

“It's not me being horrible, I couldn't watch it, because I knew. I had to turn away. I know it's the worst thing to do, every time I tried to get up, he literally just pushed me away. Isabella was in tears, she was emotional, and I was trying to get her to calm down, every time I tried he had a go at me.”

The prosecution read a statement on behalf of Bethany Birkinshaw, a friend of Gleason-Mitchell’s.

A mental health worker by trade, she said the pair met in secondary school, having been in learning support together.

Ms Birkinshaw recalled Gleason-Mitchell being bullied at school for being on learning support.

She remembered asking Gleason-Mitchell ‘whether she was shaken as a baby’.

Her statement read: “I know it's awful but she isn't all there. She struggles with spelling and definitely has intellectual challenges, although she never told me she had been diagnosed with anything.

“She always wanted to work with kids, she was a people pleaser. Although Chelsea could be very easily manipulated.”

However, Ms Birkinshaw described her friend as ‘lovely’.

The court also heard from Cole Chirico, a friend of Jeff’s, who described him as a ‘kind and thoughtful’ person without a history of violence.

Between them, Gleason-Mitchell and Jeff were accused of eight offences, with each charged with one count of murder, one of causing or allowing the death of a child, one of cruelty to a child under 16 in relation to cocaine plus one of cruelty to a child under 16 with relation to cannabis.

Gleason-Mitchell pleaded not guilty to murder, but admitted all other charges. Jeff pleaded not guilty to all counts.

The prosecution believes Isabella died on June 26, 2023. She was found covered in bruises, with black eyes and obscured by a blanket.

Isabella’s cause of death was certified as a bone marrow embolism caused by skeletal trauma.

Ms Howes attributed this to physical abuse, namely kicking or stamping, by Jeff, in what she called an ‘escalated regime of brutality’.

The trial continues.