Teenager who shook baby to death jailed for murder

A teenager who murdered his girlfriend's four-month-old baby by shaking him to death has been told he will serve at least 14 years in prison.

Elijah Shemwell died on 5 January 2022, three days after he was found pale, limp and drowsy at his mother's home in Belper, Derbyshire.

Carl Alesbrook, who was 16 at the time, was in a relationship with Elijah's mother India Shemwell and had been alone looking after the baby in her flat.

Alesbrook, now 19, denied harming Elijah but was convicted after a trial at Derby Crown Court, and was handed a life sentence with the 14-year minimum term on Friday.

Alesbrook, previously of Upper Greenhill Gardens, Matlock in Derbyshire, met his ex-partner Shemwell in November 2021.

He previously denied murdering Elijah but was unanimously convicted after a five-week trial in July.

The court heard Alesbrook caused whiplash-type injuries, bleeding on the brain, and multiple bone fractures to Elijah.

Video taken by Shemwell of her son unresponsive with a floppy arm on 1 January was shown to the jury.

Another video showed him "gasping for breath" before Shemwell phoned emergency services on the evening of 2 January, and he was taken by an ambulance to the Queen's Medical Centre in Nottingham.

Elijah died three days later on 5 January with fatal head injuries that were described in court as "catastrophic".

During the trial, Alesbrook denied being "unduly angered or irritated" by the baby, but the court was told he sent an abusive Snapchat message to Shemwell days before the baby was rushed to hospital.

He also denied that a toothache caused him to "lose his temper", or that he was "jealous" of Shemwell's relationship with the baby's father.

Mark Heywood KC, defending Alesbrook, said the defendant was "very young and very immature" at the time of the offences, but was "capable of being a very caring father figure".

The court heard Alesbrook looked after Elijah when his mother was away from her home.

Shemwell, who was 21 at the time but is now 24, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment at the same court after she admitted two counts of child cruelty in December last year.

She cried in the dock as the videos of Elijah appearing "lifeless" were played to the court during the sentencing hearing.

Shemwell was described during her ex-partner's trial as "a thoroughly inadequate mother" who generally and specifically neglected to seek prompt medical attention for her son.

Prosecutor Vanessa Marshall KC said Shemwell "failed to prioritise the needs of Elijah over her own" and should have known Elijah was "testing Mr Alesbrook's patience".

Shemwell's defence lawyer Darron Whitehead said: "She knows she has let down her son, she knows she has let herself down, and she has let down her family.

"It is her inactivity, it's her failings, that will haunt her for the rest of her life. She misses Elijah and no matter what is said in this room, or in writing, she loved her son."

A victim impact statement by Shemwell's mother, Rachel Shemwell, read to the court said her daughter was "not the best of mums" and things could have "turned out differently" if she had asked for help.

She wrote: "We will never get Elijah back and can only remember the happiness he brought us in his short life."

Mr Justice Jeremy Baker said: "The effect of Eli's death on those who loved him is evident. Nothing this court can do will assuage their overwhelming sense of loss."

Det Ch Insp Greg McGill, who led the investigation for Derbyshire Police, said: "Even a teenager knows the fatal risks posed by shaking a four-month-old baby boy.

"The force used to squeeze his tiny body broke his ribs - while the shaking caused such significant damage that his brain became starved of oxygen, leading to his death.

"While India was quite simply an appalling mother, she could never have foreseen the brutal actions of Alesbrook.

"However, it is quite clear that she could and should have taken far better care of Elijah and she will have to live with the consequences of both her action and inaction for the rest of her life."

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