Heartbreak Over Isabelle's Suffering: Her Killers Should Have Been Stopped

WHEN his two-year-old daughter, Isabelle, was hospitalised after suffering a severe leg injury, Josh Welsh was worried for her safety.

Despite his concerns, and those of the hospital staff, he had no choice by to hand her back to her mum and new boyfriend. Tragically, she died days later.

Josh Welsh said police and social services did not act when he alerted them over his concerns for his daughter Isabelle Credit: Supplied Isabelle Rose Welsh was hailed as a ‘princess’ by her devastated family Credit: Facebook

Now Josh says Isabelle was put “back into the hands of two monsters” as police and social services ruled there was “no sign of abuse”.

Isabelle’s mother, Alexandra Walker, and boyfriend, Harrison Simpson, have now been after being convicted of her murder – and her furious dad has blasted authorities over the missed opportunities to save her.

The two-year-old died after a horrific that left her with 21 broken bones.

But as Walker, 25, and Simpson,21, are sentenced to a minimum of 22 years and 28 years respectively, the toddler’s dad slammed those who failed to save her.

Josh and Walker met in 2021 but their relationship hit the rocks Credit: Supplied Isabelle’s mum Alexandra Walker, 25, has been charged with murderCredit: Refer to source

Josh Welsh, 27, said police and social services did not act when he alerted them over his concerns for Isabelle.

A hospital handed Isabelle back to her abusers after she suffered an injury despite concerns from medical staff, while a health visitor cleared the home as safe without even going there.

Josh said: “What happened in that house is unimaginable – those two are animals and should spend the rest of their lives in prison.

“But what’s almost as hard to live with is that it could have been prevented if the police, social services, the hospital and health visitor had done their jobs properly.

“There needs to be an investigation and people need to be sacked at the very least. I’m furious – how the hell did this happen?”

Josh and Walker met in 2021 but their relationship hit the rocks.

He told how she would down ten cans of strong Stella lager a day and often turned violent against him.

They split acrimoniously in March last year and Walker refused to allow Josh to see his daughter despite many attempts by the doting dad.

Within three months she had started a new relationship with the then 21-year-old Harrison Simpson, who she met on Snapchat.

He swiftly moved into her home in Thornaby, Teesside, and soon began abusing little Isabelle.

Josh was so concerned for his daughter he rang police and social services but said nothing was done.

The bricklayer said: “Even before she met Harrison Simpson I was voicing my concerns for Isabelle.

Isabelle Rose’s family said the toddler was ‘full of life’ Harrison Simpson moved in with Walker and Isabelle after just a few months of datingCredit: Refer to source

“I rang the police and social services to say that Alex’s drinking was out of hand and that I was worried for my daughter.

“She would regularly drink 10 cans of Stella Artois and would turn violent towards me. Although I never saw her raise a hand to Isabelle, I didn’t want her in that situation and felt powerless to do anything to help her.

“Not a thing was done by any of the authorities I contacted and because of that the result was worse than anything I had imagined.

“Isabelle was taken into hospital with a leg fracture that could only have been caused by twisting and staff were rightly very worried about it and did not want to let Isabelle leave.

“But others said there was no sign of abuse and said she had to be released back to her mother. They put my little girl back into the hands of two monsters.”

A few days after she was discharged from North Tees Hospital, Stockton-on-Tees, a health visitor phoned Walker to check up on her.

She was reassured that Isabelle was fine and gave the family a clean bill of health without bothering to visit.

Tributes were left outside the home in Thornaby Credit: Facebook Josh said: ‘There are days when I wonder if I can carry on’ Credit: Supplied

Teesside Crown Court was told that days later – on September 13 – Walker called 999 to say her daughter was unresponsive.

When paramedics arrived they found her in a state of collapse at the foot of the stairs. She died the next day.

The tot had suffered a catastrophic head injury consistent with being hit against a hard and unyielding surface such as a wall or the floor. The impact was so severe it stopped her heart.

She had suffered 21 broken bones, 97 soft tissue injuries, internal tears from violent sexual assaults and there was evidence suggesting she had been swung by a limb.

Incredibly Walker waited 75 minutes before calling an ambulance after she found her daughter limp and lifeless, instead Googling: “Why would my toddler be bleeding?”

Walker and Simpson both denied murder, allowing the death of a child, sexual assault and child cruelty. They blamed each other for the tot’s death.

But after almost seven hours of jury deliberations, and Walker by a majority of 11 to one, of murder.

They were also both convicted of child cruelty.

In court Walker, left was described as a “fantasist and attention-seeker” while cowardly Simpson, right, had remained silent since his arrest A video shows Isabelle in happier times before her death Credit: Cleveland Police

Simpson was convicted of sexual assault on the toddler, while Walker was cleared of that charge.

Ms Justice Norton thanked the jury for their work on such a “difficult” case.

She will pass sentence on Thursday morning.

Josh said: “I have lived for almost a year with the thoughts and visions of what that sick, twisted animal did to my little girl and there are days when I wonder if I can carry on.

“She was a lovely, happy smiling little girl who loved her dad and I loved her. We were a normal family who went to the park and spent time in what was a safe and loving home.

“And then Alex brought in someone capable of the most sickening crimes anyone could imagine – and the worst of it is that she knew what was going on.

“She Googled whether he was on the sex offenders register and spoke to her mother about whether he might be a paedophile. And she still did nothing.

“The thought of the pain and fear that my Isabelle suffered in her last weeks is always there. Is still tearing me apart.

“I genuinely don’t think Alex physically hurt Isabelle, but to walk around with her lifeless body in her arms for over an hour and do nothing makes her guilty of murder in my eyes.

“In that hour and a quarter she was thinking of herself and knew that whatever happened she would not be able to talk her way out of it. What sort of mother puts herself in front of her dying child?”

Isabelle was laid to rest in Evenwood, Co Durham, close to Barnard Castle where Josh was brought up.

He said: “I wanted her to rest far away from the people who killed her and who allowed her to be abused and hurt for weeks. I don’t want those people anywhere near her, even in death.”

Majella McCarthy, Chair of the Hartlepool and Stockton-on-Tees Safeguarding Children Partnership said:

“This is an incredibly upsetting and tragic case and our thoughts are with Isabelle’s family.

“A multi-agency rapid review was carried out following Isabelle’s death to identify and reflect on the facts of the case, and the outcome of that rapid review was submitted to the National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel, which agreed with its conclusions.

“The associated action plan was implemented by the Partnership with immediate effect and the agencies involved have put in place measures to address any actions relating to them where applicable. The action plan is being monitored and reviewed by the Partnership.”

North Tees Hospital declined to comment.

Cleveland Police said they received no reports from Josh Welsh.