Man sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his partner’s daughter

A man has been given a life sentence, with a minimum term of 26 years, for the killing of his partner’s two-year-old daughter and leaving her body in a locked bathroom. Scott Jeff, 24, will serve this minimum period for the murder of Isabella Jonas-Wheildon, who was discovered in Ipswich on 30 June 2023, bearing “traumatic injuries.” Isabella’s mother, Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, also 24, was handed a 10-year prison sentence after admitting to causing or allowing the death of a child. Ipswich Crown Court heard that the couple, originally from Bedfordshire, had transported Isabella’s deceased body in a pushchair for several days after her death on 26 June, before they fled Ipswich. Warning: This article features details of physical abuse Both individuals also received concurrent sentences of three months each for child cruelty related to cannabis and six months each for child cruelty related to cocaine. Gleason-Mitchell was acquitted of murder during a trial held in November. High Court judge Mr Justice Neil Garnham stated: “There she was, a two-year-old child, totally dependent on the two of you.” Addressing Jeff, he continued: “Jeff, you subjected that defenceless little girl to a brutal campaign of violence and those attacks were monstrous. She feared what was going to happen next.” To Gleason-Mitchell, he remarked: “Gleason-Mitchell, you are a weak and spineless person and pathetically desperate. Isabella must have looked to you for your help but you did nothing.” The judge concluded: “It is perfectly clear to me that her killing has had a devastating effect on her family and the lives of all of them will be permanently disfigured. “You two are responsible for all this pain.”” In court, Thomas Wheildon, Isabella’s father, said: “Isabella was the most wonderful addition to my life – she was an extension of me and I miss her every day.” He added: “When she died a part of me died and my entire world came crashing down – it has completely changed me and I am a shell of the man I once was.” Mr. Wheildon further expressed: “Isabella was perfect in every way and had a life so full of promise, but now all my dreams for her will never be realised – I’ll never take her for her first day of school.” He concluded: “Her life was tragically cut short by you wicked, sadistic and vile people. I am so sorry Isabella. I am sorry for not being able to protect you.” During a seven-week trial, the court was informed that the toddler endured “psychological torment” and “physical trauma” at the hands of Jeff and his “evil temper.” Frustrated by Isabella’s difficulties with potty training, he would repeatedly kick and stamp on her and punish her with cold showers, all while her mother “stood by and did nothing.” These brutal assaults resulted in Isabella sustaining injuries typically observed in “high-velocity traffic accidents” or from being “kicked by a horse.” Bone pathologist Prof Anthony Freemont testified during the couple’s trial that, in his 40-year career, he had never before seen such a severe pelvic injury in a child. Isabella, a “smiley, blonde-haired” child described as “engaging and happy,” died from a bone marrow embolism as a consequence of skeletal trauma. “The level of injuries were just truly, truly horrific,” stated Det Ch Insp Craig Powell, from the Suffolk and Norfolk police forces’ joint investigation team. He added: “The overall level of abuse and the way in which poor Isabella suffered is truly shocking and the actions of the pair were abhorrent.” He continued: “It’s not lost on any of us as police officers and parents how shocking it is and the escalation and the speed with which this developed and led to such a tragic end.” The abuse commenced shortly after the pair, while under the influence of drugs, departed their hometown of Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, and traveled to the Norfolk coast. After staying at the St George Hotel in Great Yarmouth, they slept in a tent on a beach in Caister-on-Sea before spending three nights at a caravan park. By 19 June, Jeff and Gleason-Mitchell had moved into the East Villas housing complex on Sidegate Lane in Ipswich, having falsely claimed to be fleeing domestic violence. Seven days later, Isabella was dead. However, instead of reporting it to the police, the couple chose to act as if she was alive and continued “living a normal life.” The court heard today that her body was “treated with disdain” after her death and had a “bag of shopping casually placed” on top of it in the pushchair. In “macabre” CCTV footage viewed by the BBC, they were seen pushing her lifeless body around Ipswich in a pushchair, while simultaneously shopping, drinking, and consuming cocaine. The alarm was only raised on 29 June, when Gleason-Mitchell informed her friend Joanne Gardner that Isabella had been deceased in her pushchair for approximately three days. The following day, they abandoned Isabella and left their flat, taking a bus into the town centre before going shopping, visiting McDonald’s, and then a pub. The pair then proceeded to the Corn Exchange pub in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk, where they spent several hours drinking and laughing before their arrest on 1 July. In mitigation, Sasha Wass KC, representing Gleason-Mitchell, a former nursery assistant, stated that her client “of course failed to protect her daughter” but possessed a “deep love for her” and that her “grief was immense.” Christopher Paxton KC, Jeff’s barrister, acknowledged that his client’s “immaturity” constituted a “significant mitigating” factor, but conceded that “no mitigation can justify” his actions towards Isabella. Det Ch Insp Powell further commented: “The murder of any child is the worst crime imaginable and no sentence will ever be long enough.” He also stated: “None of us involved in this case will ever forget Isabella. She has truly touched our hearts.” Following Isabella’s death, a local children’s safeguarding practice review was initiated, examining the multi-agency safeguarding approach prior to her passing. This review is scheduled for publication upon its completion. A statement issued on behalf of the Central Bedfordshire, Suffolk, and Norfolk safeguarding children partnerships declared: “It is important we do all we can to learn from cases such as this to reduce the risk of similar cases occurring in the future.” The statement concluded: “We send our condolences to Isabella’s family and our thoughts are with all those who knew and loved her at this extremely difficult time.” For updates on East of England news, follow BBC Beds, Herts & Bucks, BBC Cambridgeshire, BBC Essex, BBC Norfolk, BBC Northamptonshire or BBC Suffolk on X, Instagram, and Facebook. Copyright 2024 BBC. All rights reserved. The BBC bears no responsibility for the content of external websites. Information regarding our external linking policy is available.