Biggleswade woman who 'stood by and did nothing' as daughter, 2, was murdered will not face longer sentence
A Biggleswade mum who wheeled her daughter’s body around in a pram after her murder will not have her sentence increased after a ruling from the Court of Appeal.
Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, 24, was jailed for 10 years in December after pleading guilty to allowing the death of a child – a homicide offence – and two offences of cruelty to a child.
Her partner, Scott Jeff, was jailed for life for murdering two-year-old Isabella Wheildon, while Gleason-Mitchell “'stood close by and did nothing”.
The pair then wheeled Isabella’s body around in a pushchair before fleeing and leaving her body in a bathroom at their temporary accommodation in Ipswich.
At her sentencing, the judge described Gleason-Mitchell as “weak and spineless”.
But the Court of Appeal ruled on Wednesday, March 12, that the sentence will stand after finding that it was not ‘unduly lenient’.
The case had been referred to the court by solicitor general Lucy Rigby following a request from shadow safeguarding minister Alicia Kearns.
A review published in February found the toddler had been failed by multiple agencies across the country leading up to her murder.
Central Bedfordshire, Suffolk, and Norfolk Safeguarding Children Partnerships sent their condolences to Isabella’s family in a joint statement addressing the findings and said work was under way to implement improvements.
It read: “The circumstances of Isabella’s death have had an enormous impact on her family, friends, those who knew her, and professionals who worked with the family. This has been a case that has touched many people across our counties, and all the Safeguarding Partnerships involved in this statement have been truly shocked.”