Man who murdered partner’s two-year-old daughter before taking her body to pub and shops jailed

Published

6 months ago

December 14, 2024

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A man who killed his partner’s two-year-old daughter before taking her body in a buggy to the pub and shops has been jailed for life.

Warning: This article contains details readers may find distressing

Scott Jeff, 24, was found guilty last month of Isabella Wheildon’s murder as well as two counts of child cruelty after an eight-week trial at Ipswich Crown Court. He will serve a minimum of 26 years in jail.

Judge Mr Justice Neil Garnham said Jeff subjected Isabella to a “cruel campaign of violence and abuse which ended in her death” on 26 June last year.

Jeff, who was not the toddler’s father, had been in a relationship with her mother, former nursery worker Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, also 24.

Gleason-Mitchell was cleared of murder but pleaded guilty to causing or allowing the death of a child and two counts of child cruelty. She appeared to shake in the dock as she was jailed for 10 years.

The judge described her as a “weak and spineless person” who “stood back and let that abuse and violence happen to your little girl”.

He said she was “so concerned about her own comfort and pleasures, and about maintaining a relationship with this man, that you would tolerate anything, including these dreadful assaults on your daughter”.

Isabella was found in a buggy in a locked bathroom at a temporary housing unit in Ipswich in June last year.

‘Escalating brutality’

The court heard she had injuries to her head, neck, torso and limbs after suffering “escalating brutality”.

The couple took Isabella on holiday to the Norfolk coast where they first stayed in hotels, then spent four nights in a tent on the beach at Caister, and began seeking council accommodation.

The court heard Jeff would punish Isabella when she wet herself with her injuries concealed with a puffer jacket and sunglasses.

Her arms were fractured and her pelvis was “in effect shattered” when Jeff either stamped on her or “kicked her between her legs with enormous force”, resulting in her death hours later, the judge said.

Prosecutors said Isabella died from “bone marrow embolism caused by skeletal trauma”.

Traces of cocaine and cannabis were also found in the toddler’s system.

Sally Howes KC told jurors the toddler was a “healthy, contented, well-cared for little girl until Scott Jeff came into her young life” towards the end of May 2023.

From then, she suffered “escalating brutality which was callous, cruel and ultimately fatal”, at Jeff’s hands.

A post-mortem found Isabella had “extensive external traumatic injuries to the soft tissues of the body including head, neck, torso, limbs” and other areas, the barrister said, adding that her mother “did nothing and allowed this [the abuse] to happen”.

Pushed body around in buggy

Jeff and Gleason-Mitchell, both of no fixed address but formerly from Bedfordshire, had been staying at the temporary accommodation for 11 days, when Isabella’s body was discovered on 30 June.

Prosecutors said she died on 26 June after having difficulty breathing. Jeff and Gleason-Mitchell claimed they attempted to perform CPR on her but she died at 11.37pm.

CCTV footage showed the couple went out to the shops 30 minutes later and were shown joking, apparently unaffected by Isabella’s death.

Over the next three days, they pushed the toddler’s body around in a buggy, even taking the bus into town to go shopping and going to the pub.

The judge told Gleason-Mitchell: “You felt able to go shopping with Jeff, the two of you pushing Isabella’s body around in a pushchair covered with a blanket, as if you were enjoying a family day out.”

He said the pair eventually left Isabella’s dead body in a bathroom at a hostel for the homeless and took a train to Bury St Edmunds, where Gleason-Mitchell was seen “sitting happily with a glass of wine in a pub… smiling and laughing”.

The pair were arrested in the early hours of 1 July in Bury St Edmunds, having fled Ipswich after police had found Isabella’s body.

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Tributes paid to mother-of-four among two skydivers who died in ‘tragic accident’

Published

2 hours ago

June 16, 2025

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Tributes paid to mother-of-four among two skydivers who died in 'tragic accident'

A mother-of-four was among two skydivers who died following a “tragic accident” at an airfield in Devon.

Belinda Taylor was pronounced dead at the scene following Friday afternoon’s incident in the area of Dunkeswell Aerodrome near Honiton.

On Facebook, her partner Scott Armstrong wrote: “I miss you so much, you were my best friend.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done for me, from making my children feel at home to putting up with my mess.

“… there’s just so much that I don’t have the words to express it.

“I feel so lost. I don’t know where home is without you.”

Ms Taylor’s eldest son, Connor Bowles, paid tribute to a “selfless woman” who was also a grandmother to two young children.

Thanking investigators for their work so far, he told DevonLive: “She will be deeply missed and will leave an everlasting impression on all those she has met in life.”

The identity of the second skydiver who died is yet to be made public, but their family has been informed.

British Skydiving has confirmed it will be investigating the incident – with a report sent to the coroner, the Civil Aviation Authority and the police.

In a statement, SkydiveBuzz, which operates at the airfield, said its “deepest condolences go out to the families, friends and everyone affected by this devastating event”.

A spokesperson added: “Safety is, and always has been, our top priority. We are fully cooperating with the investigation and continue to uphold the highest possible standards in everything we do.

“No further details will be provided at this time. We respectfully ask for privacy for all those affected, including our team, during this incredibly difficult time.”

UK

Career spy Blaise Metreweli to become first woman to head MI6

Published

5 hours ago

June 16, 2025

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Career spy Blaise Metreweli to become first woman to head MI6

Career spy Blaise Metreweli will become the first woman to head MI6 in a “historic appointment”, the prime minister has announced.

She will take over from Sir Richard Moore as the 18th Chief, also known as “C”, when he steps down in the autumn.

“The historic appointment of Blaise Metreweli comes at a time when the work of our intelligence services has never been more vital,” Sir Keir Starmer said in a statement released on Sunday night.

“The United Kingdom is facing threats on an unprecedented scale – be it aggressors who send their spy ships to our waters or hackers whose sophisticated cyber plots seek to disrupt our public services.”

Of the other main spy agencies, GCHQ is also under female command for the first time.

Anne Keast-Butler took on the role in 2023, while MI5 has previously twice been led by a woman.

Until now, a female spy chief had only headed MI6 – also known as the Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) – in the James Bond movies.

Dame Judi Dench held the fictional role – called “M” in the films instead of “C” – between 1995 and 2015.

Ms Metreweli currently serves as “Q”, one of four director generals inside MI6.

The position – also made famous by the James Bond films, with the fictional “Q” producing an array of spy gadgets – means she is responsible for technology and innovation.

Ms Metreweli, a Cambridge graduate, joined MI6 in 1999.

Unlike the outgoing chief, who spent some of his service as a regular diplomat in the foreign office, including as ambassador to Turkey, she has spent her entire career as an intelligence officer.

Much of that time was dedicated to operational roles in the Middle East and Europe.

Ms Metreweli, who is highly regarded by colleagues, also worked as a director at MI5.

In a statement, she said she was “proud and honoured to be asked to lead my service”.

“MI6 plays a vital role – with MI5 and GCHQ – in keeping the British people safe and promoting UK interests overseas,” she said.

“I look forward to continuing that work alongside the brave officers and agents of MI6 and our many international partners.”

Sir Richard said: “Blaise is a highly accomplished intelligence officer and leader, and one of our foremost thinkers on technology. I am excited to welcome her as the first female head of MI6.”

UK

Farming: Cost of rural crime in Wales at its highest in more than a decade

Published

5 hours ago

June 16, 2025

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Farming: Cost of rural crime in Wales at its highest in more than a decade

The cost of rural crime in Wales is at its highest in more than a decade, a new report has revealed.

Last year, rural crime cost an estimated £2.8m in Wales, according to insurance provider NFU Mutual.

That’s an 18% increase on the previous year, with Wales the only UK nation to have seen a rise.

For farmers like Caryl Davies, that makes their work harder.

The 21-year-old farms on a beef and sheep farm in Pembrokeshire.

She told Sky News that having the quad bike stolen from her family farm last August had made them feel “really unsafe at home”.

The fact it happened in such a rural area was a “really big shock” for Ms Davies and her family.

“We’d rely on the bike day in day out, to look after our cows and sheep, and it’s had a really negative impact on us,” she said.

The cost of replacing a bike exactly like theirs would be “close to £10,000”.

“They’re a really expensive piece of kit, but you can’t be without them, especially in these rural areas where we’ve got the mountain and maybe places that aren’t very accessible,” she added.

“The bike is totally crucial for our day-to-day running of the farm.”

The incident was caught on camera in the calving shed, but the Davies family have since invested in an enhanced CCTV system. That comes at an additional cost.

“For some farmers, this is spare money that we haven’t really got,” Ms Davies added.

“Farming is hard enough as it is, without people stealing your things and having to spend this extra money on making your home farm safe.”

The total cost of rural crime across the UK has fallen since 2023 – down from £52.8m to £44.1m.

Quad bike and All Terrain Vehicles (ATVs) remained the top target for thieves during the past year, NFU Mutual’s figures show.

James Bourne farms in Pontypool, Torfaen, and claims to have had over 200 sheep stolen from common land adjoining his farm over a four-year period.

The 32-year-old told Sky News that losing sheep from his herd was a “big hit” on his business as well as the young family he is trying to support.

“The way agriculture is at the moment anyway, we’re struggling to make ends meet, and any profit that is in it is obviously being taken from me,” he said.

“So I really need to try and find out and get to the bottom of where they’re going because obviously it’s an ongoing issue.”

Andrew Chalk, from NFU Mutual, told Sky News that while there had been a “significant drop” across the UK, there were “worrying signs”.

“In Wales, especially, rural crime’s gone up which just shows that organised criminals are looking for ways to target the countryside again and again,” he said.

“What we’ve found increasingly is that organised criminals are targeting certain areas of the countryside, so they’re hitting multiple farms in one night.

“They’re raiding them, they’re moving away to another area and then hitting multiple farms there. So it is hugely concerning.”

Mr Chalk said NFU Mutual had also heard reports of criminals using drones and other equipment to “look at the lay of the land”.

“What it does show is that organised criminals are always going to find new ways to target rural crime and that’s why we need to be on top of it and to work together to actually disrupt them,” he added.

Police forces in Wales say they are aware of the “significant impact” that rural crimes have on those affected.

A Dyfed-Powys Police spokesperson said the force had acquired new technology to help combat rural crime, including “advanced DNA asset-marking kits” and hopes to “empower farmers with effective tools and advice”.

The spokesperson acknowledged the difficulty of patrolling the entire police force area, “given the huge area” it has to cover, and thanked rural communities for their “continuing vigilance and for reporting any suspicious activity”.

Temporary Chief Superintendent Jason White, from Gwent Police, said the force would be “increasing resources” within the rural crime team throughout this financial year and urged anyone in a rural area who believes they have been a victim of crime to get in touch.