Overview
- Cleveland Police were called to a Thornaby address after concerns for a child and the two-year-old, Isabelle Rose Welsh, was taken to hospital and later died on September 14 last year.
- Harrison Simpson, 22, and Alexandra Walker, 25, are charged with murder and have pleaded not guilty to additional counts including causing or allowing the death of a child, assault by penetration, and cruelty to a person under 16.
- The jury was sworn at Teesside Crown Court and the judge told jurors the trial is expected to last about six weeks.
- Prosecutor Richard Wright KC is due to open the case and will tell the court evidence includes a fatal head injury and multiple fractures that the prosecution says followed weeks of violence, plus injuries alleged to be consistent with sexual assault.
- Both defendants remain in custody while the trial proceeds and the court will hear medical, witness and forensic evidence that prosecutors say will explain how the injuries occurred and who was responsible.