Mother accused of sexually abusing and murdering daughter, two, with new boyfriend waited an hour to call 999 as she lay dying, court hears

By GLEN KEOGH, SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT Published: 14:22, 24 June 2026 | Updated: 14:26, 24 June 2026 A mother accused alongside her new boyfriend of abusing and murdering a toddler in a ‘campaign of violence’ waited an hour to call 999 as she lay dying, a court has heard. As Isabelle Welsh, two, was 'gravely ill', her mother, Alexandra Walker, 25, was seen on CCTV footage at her home smoking a cigarette and she then used Google to search: ‘Why would my toddler be bleeding?’ She and her boyfriend Harrison Simpson, 22, who she had known for just a few months after meeting online, deny murder, assault by penetration, allowing the death of a child and child cruelty. Teesside Crown Court has heard that Isabelle suffered 21 broken bones in the weeks before she finally died from a ‘massive head injury’ consistent with being ‘violently shaken' and then hit against a ‘hard and unyielding surface such as a wall or hard floor'. The day before Isabelle died on September 13 last year, the defendants had been up late at Walker’s property in Thornaby, Teesside, drinking and smoking cannabis, jurors were told. While Walker stayed in bed the following morning, Simpson was up and in sole care of the toddler, the court heard. He later put Isabelle to bed and around 3pm left the two-bedroom property. On the second day of their trial, prosecutor Richard Wright KC said that it was within 10 minutes that Walker Googled, ‘why would my toddler be bleeding?’ Mr Wright added: ‘A minute later the CCTV picks her up saying, “you’re scaring me.” ‘She then Googles “what should I do if my child has blood in his stool?” ‘She can be heard saying “come on” and repeating Isabelle’s name. It is absolutely obvious, we suggest, that by this time Isabelle is gravely ill. She is quite simply dying. ‘And yet, despite the searches on Google, Alexandra Walker does nothing. ‘She is seen having a cigarette in the kitchen and making further Google searches about lethargy, and can be heard repeating Isabelle’s name.’ Two-year-old Isabelle Welsh died at her home in Thornaby, Teesside, on September 13 last year. Isabelle's mother, Alexandra Walker, is on trial at Teesside Crown Court accused of her daughter's murder Harrison Simpson, 22, is also accused of Isabelle's murder. He had known her mother for just a few months at the time of her death, jurors have been told Around an hour after Simpson left, Walker called her stepfather and he arrived at around 4.15pm and immediately told her to call 999. Paramedics arrived within a minute and Isabelle was rushed to hospital, but she died in the early hours of the next day. Mr Wright said: ‘One explanation for the delay [in calling the emergency services] of course is that Alexandra Walker knew that this time she would not be able to bluff and bluster her way out of the very difficult questions that she knew she would be asked at hospital.’ Jurors have already been told that 11 days before her death, Walker took Isabelle to her GP and then hospital because she was complaining of pain in her leg. She was said to have waited for two weeks while her daughter told of her pain before seeking medical attention. The leg was found to be fractured but Walker said the injury was a result of her trapping her leg in her cot and she was discharged, despite concerns among some medical staff. She also became argumentative with hospital staff who questioned her about the injury, the court was told.   Home Office pathologist Dr Sam Hoggard examined Isabelle's body after she died and found 97 separate soft tissue injuries caused by being tightly gripped and, most likely, shaken, the court heard. In police interview Walker told police Isabelle had met her death through accidental injuries. In later interviews, when faced with post-mortem evidence, she said that Simpson must have been responsible for Isabelle's injuries if they were caused maliciously. Simpson did not answer questions in his police interview, Mr Wright said. Concluding his opening of trial, scheduled to last for six weeks, Mr Wright added: ‘This was a household occupied by two adults, caring for one small child. ‘Over a period of weeks, that child sustained numerous injuries - serious injuries, painful injuries, injuries of a kind that were obvious to anyone who saw her. She was distressed, she was unwell, and she was deteriorating. ‘Those were not hidden events. They were not fleeting or isolated incidents.  'They formed a pattern of abuse taking place over time, in a small house, in the presence of both defendants.’ Sorry we are not currently accepting comments on this article.