Day 8 - Part 1
Read bottom up…TW medical evidence.
12:36pm 06/07/26
Agreed facts
Paul Abrahams, junior counsel for the prosecution, is now taking the jury through a series of facts agreed between all parties involved in the trial.
The barrister is dealing with the arrest of Alexandra Walker and Harrison Simpson in the early hours of the morning.
He tells the jury that police seized two video cameras from inside Walker's Thornaby home.
The jury hears how Simpson was interviewed on three occasions and he made no comment to all questions put to him about the physical and sexual abuse of Isabelle.
Walker was also interviewed on three occasions - transcripts of those were read to the jury last week.
12:25pm 06/07/26
Cross examination
Mr Lumley KC is the first to cross examine the expert witness.
He quizzes Professor Freemont about the fracture timings and the accuracy without video or witness evidence.
He confirms people across all ages heal at different rates.
The barrister asks about the fractures aged between three to six weeks discovered on Isabelle's body and the professor confirms that it's likely that they happened in the same incident by a single person.
Professor Freemont confirms that is the case for all of the timeframes.
Mr McKone KC has no questions for the expert witness and there is no re-examination from Mr Wright, prosecuting.
12:17pm 06/07/26
Hearing resumes
Professor Freemont will resume his evidence following a short break in proceedings.
The medical expert will be cross examined by defence barristers Nicholas Lumley KC, for Harrison Simpson, and Mark McKone KC, for Alexandra Walker.
11:48am 06/07/26
Likely causation
Professor Freemont is now dealing with the likely causation of Isabelle's injuries.
He says the likely cause of the injuries to her limbs were at the ends of the bones and the the most likely cause is 'pulling or twisting' on the limbs affected.
When asked what level of force should we be thinking about, he says, 'these fractures are not seen in the usual day of a child or in boisterous play - they are beyond those types of activities'.
Dealing with the 'callus' injuries where the child's bone has been 'bent and released', he says there is a small amount of damage which initiates a healing response.
He says the skull fracture was a long linear fracture, around 6cms long, they are used caused by a direct impact on a child of this age - something hitting the skull or the skull hitting something.
"You are looking at really significant force," he says.
He says there can be a correlation with the twisting and pulling fractures to the limbs, the spinal fractures and the skull fracture.
'There was twisting and pulling at the same time that the skull impacted on a hard surface', he says.
The medical expert says there was a lack of history for some of the injuries which is a 'red flag' for a set of fractures to be non-accidental but in this case there were three red flags.
11:37am 06/07/26
Further injuries
Professor Freemont is now dealing with Isabelle's foot injuries which were between eight to 24 hours and three weeks.
He says Isabelle had a crack to the neck of her femur which occurred between three and six weeks before her death.
On her left tibia, there was fracture near her knee which was eight to 24 hours old and there was matching damage to her fibula.
When asked whether he believed the injuries in the same time periods were likely to have been caused during the three time frames.
"She sustained at least three episodes of trauma to her bones," he says.
Professor Freemont says Isabelle also had a significant fracture to her skull.
There were 21 separate fractures spread across three different timescales eight to 24 hours, three to eight days and three and six weeks.
He says: "All of these fractures were non-accidental."
11:29am 06/07/26
Limb fractures
Mr Wright is now dealing with the fractures to Isabelle's legs and arms including some that were three to eight weeks old.
Professor Freemont says the healing process takes six months to heal completely and what he saw in the legs and arms were markers to indicate when they occurred.
He explains that children's bones grow from the top and bottom were two different tissues form and there were 'red flags' in Isabelle's injuries were non-accidental.
Jurors are now looking at a diagram of the toddler's injuries.
Starting at the right leg, the medical expert says the fracture was close to her knee joint which was eight to 24 hours old at the time of death.
He says there was evidence of a healing reaction on her bone which may not be an actual fracture because children's bones are more flexible and springy than those of an adult.
The jury hears how she had a fracture near her ankle which were older - three to six weeks at the time of her death.
On her right leg, there was a small fracture which was eight to 24 hours old at the time of death, he says.
He says that there was also evidence of injury caused more than three weeks earlier.
Professor Freemont says there was evidence that one of Isabelle's fractures had occurred on the same place on her bone.
11:17am 06/07/26
Spinal injuries
Mr Wright asks what mechanism would have been required to cause this type of injuries.
He says it would require a 'very forceful slam to the bottom of the pelvis or to bend the spine forwards beyond the normal limits of the spine'.
Professor Freemont ruled out accidental injuries due to number and type of injuries to the vertebrae.
"I believe that these are inflicted injuries," he says.
He tells the jury that the older injuries were likely to have been caused in the same way.
"Nowhere was I able to find any evidence that this number of fractures had been seen previously," he says.
11:12am 06/07/26
Broken bones
Professor Freemont says he identified fractures in Isabelle's vertebrae at the top and bottom of her spine which were caused between eight and 24 hours before she died.
He explains that he is able to age the breaks through investigating clotting and bruising markers through a microscope.
The jury hears there were also older fractures along the toddler's thoracic and lumbar sections of her spine which were aged between three to eight days before death.
He says he is was able to age the fractures by examining the healing process of the vertebrae but was unable to ascertain whether they all occurred at the same time.
Dealing with the most recent fractures, Professor Freemont says they occurred at the same time.
Turning his attention to the older injuries, he says: "Nearly or all of them occurred at the same time, two could have been at a different time but I could not be certain."
Mr Wright asks the professor about the fractures. He says they were all to the front of vertebrae which is extremely rare.
"I have never seen this number of fractures ever before," he says.
10:59am 06/07/26
Expert analysis
Professor Freemont tells the jury that he inspected a series of x-rays before determining which bones and fractures to investigate under a microscope.
The medical expert says he examined a large section of the toddler's spine, the radius bones in her lower arms, the tibia and fibula in both legs, bones in her left foot, the left femur, and her skull.
The specialist says there was no evidence of any underlying medical disorder that could have weakened Isabelle's bones.
He says there was a reduction in the number of blood cells in her bone marrow which can be associated with malnourishment but did not offer a definitive opinion on the cause.
10:49am 06/07/26
Medical evidence
The first person to give evidence this week is Professor Tony Freemont, a specialist pathologist, has expertise in identifying, and aging fractures to the bones.
He tells the jury that he is an expert determining the cause and age of broken bones and examined Isabelle Welsh's body following a post mortem.
Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, is taking the pathologist through his evidence.
10:36am 06/07/26
Evidence recap
You can read a recap of Friday's evidence here - Thornaby mother denied murdering her two-year-old daughter
Read bottom up…TW medical evidence.
12:36pm 06/07/26
Agreed facts
Paul Abrahams, junior counsel for the prosecution, is now taking the jury through a series of facts agreed between all parties involved in the trial.
The barrister is dealing with the arrest of Alexandra Walker and Harrison Simpson in the early hours of the morning.
He tells the jury that police seized two video cameras from inside Walker's Thornaby home.
The jury hears how Simpson was interviewed on three occasions and he made no comment to all questions put to him about the physical and sexual abuse of Isabelle.
Walker was also interviewed on three occasions - transcripts of those were read to the jury last week.
12:25pm 06/07/26
Cross examination
Mr Lumley KC is the first to cross examine the expert witness.
He quizzes Professor Freemont about the fracture timings and the accuracy without video or witness evidence.
He confirms people across all ages heal at different rates.
The barrister asks about the fractures aged between three to six weeks discovered on Isabelle's body and the professor confirms that it's likely that they happened in the same incident by a single person.
Professor Freemont confirms that is the case for all of the timeframes.
Mr McKone KC has no questions for the expert witness and there is no re-examination from Mr Wright, prosecuting.
12:17pm 06/07/26
Hearing resumes
Professor Freemont will resume his evidence following a short break in proceedings.
The medical expert will be cross examined by defence barristers Nicholas Lumley KC, for Harrison Simpson, and Mark McKone KC, for Alexandra Walker.
11:48am 06/07/26
Likely causation
Professor Freemont is now dealing with the likely causation of Isabelle's injuries.
He says the likely cause of the injuries to her limbs were at the ends of the bones and the the most likely cause is 'pulling or twisting' on the limbs affected.
When asked what level of force should we be thinking about, he says, 'these fractures are not seen in the usual day of a child or in boisterous play - they are beyond those types of activities'.
Dealing with the 'callus' injuries where the child's bone has been 'bent and released', he says there is a small amount of damage which initiates a healing response.
He says the skull fracture was a long linear fracture, around 6cms long, they are used caused by a direct impact on a child of this age - something hitting the skull or the skull hitting something.
"You are looking at really significant force," he says.
He says there can be a correlation with the twisting and pulling fractures to the limbs, the spinal fractures and the skull fracture.
'There was twisting and pulling at the same time that the skull impacted on a hard surface', he says.
The medical expert says there was a lack of history for some of the injuries which is a 'red flag' for a set of fractures to be non-accidental but in this case there were three red flags.
11:37am 06/07/26
Further injuries
Professor Freemont is now dealing with Isabelle's foot injuries which were between eight to 24 hours and three weeks.
He says Isabelle had a crack to the neck of her femur which occurred between three and six weeks before her death.
On her left tibia, there was fracture near her knee which was eight to 24 hours old and there was matching damage to her fibula.
When asked whether he believed the injuries in the same time periods were likely to have been caused during the three time frames.
"She sustained at least three episodes of trauma to her bones," he says.
Professor Freemont says Isabelle also had a significant fracture to her skull.
There were 21 separate fractures spread across three different timescales eight to 24 hours, three to eight days and three and six weeks.
He says: "All of these fractures were non-accidental."
11:29am 06/07/26
Limb fractures
Mr Wright is now dealing with the fractures to Isabelle's legs and arms including some that were three to eight weeks old.
Professor Freemont says the healing process takes six months to heal completely and what he saw in the legs and arms were markers to indicate when they occurred.
He explains that children's bones grow from the top and bottom were two different tissues form and there were 'red flags' in Isabelle's injuries were non-accidental.
Jurors are now looking at a diagram of the toddler's injuries.
Starting at the right leg, the medical expert says the fracture was close to her knee joint which was eight to 24 hours old at the time of death.
He says there was evidence of a healing reaction on her bone which may not be an actual fracture because children's bones are more flexible and springy than those of an adult.
The jury hears how she had a fracture near her ankle which were older - three to six weeks at the time of her death.
On her right leg, there was a small fracture which was eight to 24 hours old at the time of death, he says.
He says that there was also evidence of injury caused more than three weeks earlier.
Professor Freemont says there was evidence that one of Isabelle's fractures had occurred on the same place on her bone.
11:17am 06/07/26
Spinal injuries
Mr Wright asks what mechanism would have been required to cause this type of injuries.
He says it would require a 'very forceful slam to the bottom of the pelvis or to bend the spine forwards beyond the normal limits of the spine'.
Professor Freemont ruled out accidental injuries due to number and type of injuries to the vertebrae.
"I believe that these are inflicted injuries," he says.
He tells the jury that the older injuries were likely to have been caused in the same way.
"Nowhere was I able to find any evidence that this number of fractures had been seen previously," he says.
11:12am 06/07/26
Broken bones
Professor Freemont says he identified fractures in Isabelle's vertebrae at the top and bottom of her spine which were caused between eight and 24 hours before she died.
He explains that he is able to age the breaks through investigating clotting and bruising markers through a microscope.
The jury hears there were also older fractures along the toddler's thoracic and lumbar sections of her spine which were aged between three to eight days before death.
He says he is was able to age the fractures by examining the healing process of the vertebrae but was unable to ascertain whether they all occurred at the same time.
Dealing with the most recent fractures, Professor Freemont says they occurred at the same time.
Turning his attention to the older injuries, he says: "Nearly or all of them occurred at the same time, two could have been at a different time but I could not be certain."
Mr Wright asks the professor about the fractures. He says they were all to the front of vertebrae which is extremely rare.
"I have never seen this number of fractures ever before," he says.
10:59am 06/07/26
Expert analysis
Professor Freemont tells the jury that he inspected a series of x-rays before determining which bones and fractures to investigate under a microscope.
The medical expert says he examined a large section of the toddler's spine, the radius bones in her lower arms, the tibia and fibula in both legs, bones in her left foot, the left femur, and her skull.
The specialist says there was no evidence of any underlying medical disorder that could have weakened Isabelle's bones.
He says there was a reduction in the number of blood cells in her bone marrow which can be associated with malnourishment but did not offer a definitive opinion on the cause.
10:49am 06/07/26
Medical evidence
The first person to give evidence this week is Professor Tony Freemont, a specialist pathologist, has expertise in identifying, and aging fractures to the bones.
He tells the jury that he is an expert determining the cause and age of broken bones and examined Isabelle Welsh's body following a post mortem.
Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, is taking the pathologist through his evidence.
10:36am 06/07/26
Evidence recap
You can read a recap of Friday's evidence here - Thornaby mother denied murdering her two-year-old daughter
