Overview
- Closing speeches at Teesside Crown Court concluded this week and the jury retired on Thursday to begin deliberations on charges that include murder, causing or allowing a child’s death, two counts of assault by penetration, and cruelty to a person under 16.
- Prosecutors told jurors forensic testimony showed the toddler had about 21 fractured bones and roughly 100 bruises or cuts and suffered a catastrophic brain bleed and spinal trauma before she died.
- Home Office and neuropathology experts testified most injuries would have been visible over weeks, and prosecutors say the pattern and severity point to repeated physical and sexual abuse rather than an accident.
- Both defendants deny murder and blame each other in court; the mother, Alexandra Walker, gave evidence and said she was worried about her new partner, while Harrison Simpson did not give evidence.
- The trial has drawn attention to earlier medical contacts and a fractured leg found 11 days before the fatal injury, which investigators and witnesses have described as possible missed safeguarding opportunities that jurors may consider.