A man who murdered a 2-year-old toddler and took the body out for a shopping trip in a stroller has been given a life sentence. He will serve at least 26 years behind bars.
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According to a report by the Independent, Scott Jeff, 24, subjected a toddler, Isabella Wheildon, to a "regime of escalating brutality." It's important to note that Isabella isn't his child, and he began dating her mother in May 2023. Authorities found Isabella dead in a homeless hostel bathroom on June 30th, 2023.
The most shocking part of the crime is that reports suggest Isabella actually died four days earlier. To keep up appearances, Jeff and Isabella's mother, Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, 24, wheeled her body around in a stroller. CCTV footage even caught the couple "joking at the shops" while pushing the stroller.
The court heard numerous disturbing testimonies. Justice Garnham described how Jeff had "taken over potty training" and that Isabella would "sometimes wet herself." Garnham explains that Jeff "couldn't tolerate such accidents and began punishing her when they occurred."
Those punishments directly led to Isabella's death. Garnham alleges that Jeff either stamped on the toddler or "kicked her between her legs with enormous force." She died hours later. The court also heard that the injuries were consistent with "being kicked by a horse."
Isabella ultimately died from a bone marrow embolism caused by skeletal damage.
According to the post-mortem report, "extensive external traumatic injuries to the soft tissues of the body including head, neck, torso, limbs" were also found.
Authorities Cleared The Toddler's Mother Of Murder
While the court served Jeff a life sentence, Gleason-Mitchell was acquitted of murder. However, authorities gave her a 10-year sentence after "admitting, causing, or allowing the death of a child." Justice Garnham described Gleason-Mitchell as "weak and spineless" and "pathetically desperate."
Garnham also accused Gleason-Mitchell of standing back and "letting that abuse and violence happen to your little girl."
According to the BBC, Ipswitch Crown Court also heard that the couple was planning to flee the country. They sought ways to escape without passports and considered going to Amsterdam or Scotland.
Authorities caught up with and arrested Jeff and Gleason-Mitchell in Bury St Edmonds on July 1st. Body cam footage from the scene shows Jeff saying, "I never murdered her."
