A man who took the body of a girl he murdered with him on shopping trips has been sentenced to life in prison.
Isabella Wheildon, two, died on June 26 last year after a “cruel campaign of violence and abuse” by her mother's partner, Scott Jeff, 24.
Her father Thomas Wheildon described Isabella as an “extension of me” who was “perfect in every way” and “loved visiting farms and the zoo.”
“I miss her every day,” he said, adding that “there’s something wonderful about seeing life in a child’s eyes, it’s exhilarating.”
“The light within me when I'm around Isabella is now gone forever.”
Mr Jeff shattered Isabella's pelvis when he either stepped on her or “kicked her between the legs with enormous force”, leading to her death hours later, the judge said.
The girl's body was found four days later locked in a bathroom in a temporary accommodation unit in Sidegate Lane, Ipswich.
Meanwhile, Mr Jeff and Isabella's mother, 24-year-old Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, had taken Isabella's body with her when they visited shops “selling products”. [Jeff] wanted,” including X-Box games and his favorite aftershave, the prosecutor told the court.
Judge Neil Garnham said: “You felt able to go shopping with Jeff while you both pushed Isabella's body around in a blanket-covered stroller as if you were enjoying a family day out.”
Ms Gleason-Mitchell was today sentenced to ten years in prison for causing or allowing Isabella's death.
He described former kindergarten teacher Ms Gleason-Mitchell as a “weak and spineless person” who “stood back and allowed abuse and violence to happen to your little girl”.
The judge said she was “so concerned about her own well-being and enjoyment and maintaining a relationship with this man that you would tolerate anything, including these terrible attacks on your daughter.”
Isabelle was a “healthy, happy and well-cared for little girl until Scott Jeff came into her young life,” prosecutor Sally Howes KC told the court.
Ms Gleason-Mitchell had reconciled with her ex-partner Mr Jeff in May 2023 after her relationship with Isabella's father Thomas Wheildon failed.
The couple took Isabella on holiday to the Norfolk coast, where she initially stayed in hotels before spending four nights camping on Caister beach.
While they were there, they looked for public housing and Mr. Jeff took over potty training for Isabella, who sometimes wet herself.
But Mr Jeff “could not tolerate such accidents and began punishing them when they happened”, the judge said.
Her injuries, including broken arms and the fatal pelvic injury, were hidden behind a quilted jacket and sunglasses.
Christopher Paxton KC, defending Mr Jeff, claimed the defendant had “intended to cause grievous bodily harm” rather than to kill.
But Isabella ultimately died of a “bone marrow embolism caused by skeletal trauma.”
After leaving her body in a bathroom, Mr Jeff and Ms Gleason-Mitchell took the train to Bury St Edmunds, where Ms Gleason-Mitchell “sat happily in a pub with a glass of wine… smiling and laughing”.
They were arrested in the city in the early hours of July 1st.
Mr Jeff was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum of 26 years after being found guilty of murder and two counts of child cruelty.
Sasha Wass KC defended Ms Gleason-Mitchel, describing her client as “easily manipulated” and “perhaps not the most intelligent young lady” who had “failed to protect her daughter”.
Ms Gleason-Mitchel was found not guilty of murder at a trial in November. She pleaded guilty to causing or allowing the death of a child.
Isabella's paternal grandmother, Michelle Wheildon, said it “haunts me to think about what was done to her and how scared she must have been.”
Her maternal grandmother, Ann Mitchell, Gleason-Mitchell's mother, cried and said that “a huge part of me and my family has been taken.”
She now visits the crematorium with Wotsits, Isabella's favorite crisps, and Fruit Shoots, “just to spend time with her”.
Isabella's aunt Jade Anglum said she was the “shining light of all of our lives.”
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