Mother and boyfriend guilty of girl's murder

Warning: This story contains distressing details

A mother and her new boyfriend have been found guilty of murdering her two-year-old daughter, with the man also convicted of sexually abusing the girl.

Isabelle Welsh suffered multiple injuries in the weeks before she collapsed with a fractured skull at her home in Thornaby in September 2025, Teesside Crown Court had heard.

Alexandra Walker, 25, and her partner Harrison Simpson, 22, were both found guilty of murder and child cruelty, with Simpson also convicted of sexual abuse of a child.

They will be sentenced on Thursday. Isabelle's family said she had her "whole life ahead of her" but it was "taken in the most heartbreaking way".

Prosecutors previously said the couple, who began a relationship in June 2025, were both responsible for a "wicked" campaign of sexual abuse and violence against Isabelle.

Walker and Simpson blamed each other for the girl's injuries and suffering.

Isabelle suffered her fatal injuries on the morning of 13 September while alone with Simpson, when Walker was upstairs in bed following a drink and drugs binge, the court heard.

Walker called 999 later that afternoon to say her daughter had collapsed at their home, with the two-year-old dying in hospital the following day.

The previously "happy and mischievous" girl was found to have a fractured skull and catastrophic brain injury, with doctors also discovering she was covered in bruises and suffered 21 broken bones in the weeks before her death.

Prosecutors said Isabelle's abuse started shortly after Simpson arrived in her life, with the extent of her injuries so obvious her mother must have known what was going on.

They said Walker prioritised her new relationship over the safety of her daughter, allowing Simpson to spend time alone with Isabelle despite suspecting he was a paedophile.

Simpson claimed he had no motive for harming Isabelle, while Walker said she did not hurt her daughter and was unaware of any abuse.

Jurors reached their verdicts after about six and a half hours of deliberation.

Simpson was unanimously found guilty of murder, cruelty and sexual assault of a child.

Walker was convicted of murder by a majority of 11 jurors to one and of cruelty unanimously.

She was found not guilty of sexually assaulting her daughter.

Ms Justice Norton said each murderer would get a life sentence, with the minimum term they would have to serve before being eligible for parole to be set by her on Thursday.

The judge thanked jurors for their work in the upsetting and distressing case.

In a statement released after the verdicts, Isabelle's family said: "Isabelle should have had her whole life ahead of her, but she was taken from us in the most heartbreaking way.

"She was so loved and our lives will never be the same without her.

"While today's verdicts cannot undo the pain caused or bring Isabelle back, it does mean justice has been served.

"We will remember Isabelle forever."

Det Ch Insp Steve Chatterton said Isabelle suffered "catastrophic injuries at the hands of the very people who should have loved, cared for and protected her".

Walker and Simpson "robbed Isabelle of her future" and "deprived her family of watching her grow up and achieve those milestones that so many take for granted", he added.

District crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service Kirstie Devine said Isabelle suffered "shocking violence" and "appalling abuse".

The "raft of evidence", which included phone records, CCTV and medical reports, showed "only the two adults who were regularly with Isabelle could have harmed her", she said.

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