The moment a police officer discovered the body of a two-year-old girl has been described to the court.

Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell and Scott Jeff are currently on trial for the murder of Isabella Wheildon, who was found by police in her pushchair in temporary housing in Sidegate Lane in Ipswich last summer.

Prosecutor Sally Howes KC read out to Ipswich Crown Court a statement from Police Constable Ryan Wegg who attended the property.

The court heard that PC Wegg went into the room and noted the flat was empty with the bathroom door shut and locked.  

When the door was opened PC Wegg was met with a “very strong stale smell” and saw a pushchair with several blankets over it pushed into the shower.

After removing all of the blankets, he saw the face of a young child, the court heard.

PC Wegg described the child as not breathing and as having extremely severe bruising to her face.

When he touched her arm, he described it as very cold and hard to move.

The police remained at the premises and shortly after, paramedics arrived and went directly into the bathroom. A time of death was confirmed.

On Wednesday, the court heard of message exchanges between Gleason-Mitchell and her friend Joanne Gardener.

Miss Gardner, a friend of Gleason-Mitchell, phoned the police on June 30 to say the girl had died three days before and was still in her pushchair.             

Miss Gardner told the court she was in “shock” and said she “couldn’t believe the story”.

The court heard the defendant told her to delete the messages in the conversation several times.

Further messages from Gleason-Mitchell were read to the court: “I gonna be locked up for a very long time.

“Because they going to say I murder her because I left her dead in pram”, the court heard.

On the first day of the trial, the prosecution told the court that Isabella had been subjected to "an escalating regime of brutality

Both Gleason-Mitchell and Jeff, now both 24 and formerly of Bedfordshire, have denied murdering the girl between June 26-30 last year.

Jeff has denied causing or allowing the death of a child between June 26-30 last year.

He has also denied two offences of cruelty to a child under 16 between June 26-30.

Gleason-Mitchell has pleaded guilty to causing or allowing the death of a child and two offences of cruelty to a child under 16.  

“It is the prosecution case that Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell, Isabella’s mother stood back and watched, did nothing and allowed this to happen, “ said Miss Howes.

The court heard that following Isabella’s death the couple had pushed her dead body around in her pushchair with the hood up for several days.

On one of these occasions Gleason-Mitchell, who was a qualitied children's nursery assistant, was seen on CCTV smiling as they left their accommodation in Ipswich to go to the nearby Royal George pub, said Miss Howes.

The following day on June 29 they had gone by bus to Ipswich town centre where they had visited shops including Cash Converters and Cash Exchange looking at games consoles and had put their purchases inside the pushchair on top of Isabella's body.

Shortly before Isabella’s body was discovered in the bathroom of the Sidegate Lane flat Jeff and Gleason-Mitchell had travelled by train to Bury St Edmunds where they visited Wetherspoons.

They were arrested by police in Bury St Edmunds in the early hours of July 1 and taken to Martlesham Police Investigation Unit.

The court heard that before his arrest Jeff had carried out a Google search on travel to Scotland and Amsterdam and whether you needed a passport.

The trial, which is expected to last between six and eight weeks, is being heard by High Court judge, The Hon. Mr Justice Neil Garnham.

Isabella was born in Stevenage in Hertfordshire on September 22, 2020.

The trial continues.