A mother today admitted causing or allowing the death of her two-year-old daughter who was found locked in the bathroom in her buggy as the trial begins today.
Isabella Rose Wheildon was found dead inside a temporary housing unit in Ipswich on June 30.
Her mother Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, 24, has now admitted to causing or allowing her daughter’s death but denies murder.
She and her 24-year-old ex, Scott Jeff, are charged with murder, causing or allowing the death of a child, cruelty to a child in relation to cocaine, and cruelty to a child in relation to cannabis. Jeff has pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The defendants were arrested at 1.10pm by officers in the temporary housing unit they were living in at the time.
He said: ‘This is a substantial and important trial which will take between six and eight weeks.’
Isabella Rose was then found in her pushchair inside a locked bathroom before being declared dead at the scene.
An inquest held last year found the two-year-old, who was born in Stevenage, died between June 26 and 30 2023.
A referral was made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) over previous contact Norfolk Police had with the child.
An IOPC spokesperson said last year: ‘We have received a mandatory referral from Norfolk Police regarding contact officers had with the deceased in the weeks prior to her death.
‘We are currently assessing the referral to determine whether further action may be required from us.’
High Court Judge Mr Justice Garnham is presiding over the trial, which begins today and is set to last between six and eight weeks.