A 16-year-old Derbyshire youth caused the death of a four-month-old baby by “abusively” shaking him, a trial has been told. The prosecution claim prematurely-born Elijah Shemwell suffered 17 separate injuries at the hands of Carl Alesbrook.
And in the lead up to tiny Elijah’s death, the now 19-year-old defendant and the boy’s mother would either smoke cannabis in front of him or leave him in another room while they did so. Alesbrook, of Upper Greenhill Gardens, Matlock, is on trial for the murder of the youngster, the son of his then partner, India Shemwell, in Belper in January 2022. He denies the charge.
Prosecutor Vanessa Marshall KC, opening the trial at Derby Crown Court, told the jury: "Between mid-November, 2021 and early January 2022, Elijah Shemwell, only 4 months old, was left by his mother, India Shemwell, in this defendant, Carl Alesbrook’s care. Rather than protect him, it is the prosecution’s case that instead, this defendant shook Elijah on at least two occasions, resulting in symptoms of brain damage and bleeding to the brain prior to a final shake on January 2, 2022, which caused catastrophic head injuries and his premature death a few days later at the QMC, Nottingham on January 5.
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“You will also hear members of the jury that in addition to the head trauma, this defendant caused rib and limb fractures to Elijah’s body, one to two days prior to his admission to hospital on January 2, 2022.”
Miss Marshall said Shemwell, who worked as a cleaner, and Alesbrook entered a relationship in mid-November, 2021, but she “remained emotionally and sexually involved” with her former partner, and father of Elijah, a man called Lee Varney. She said: “This may well have caused this young defendant some understandable frustration at the uncertainty of the status of his relationship with the mother of Eli, and may have had some bearing on why the defendant treated Eli in the way the prosecution says he did.”
The prosecutor said shortly after 10.30pm on January 2, 2022, Shemwell made a 999 requesting an ambulance. She said when the operator asked what happened, she replied ‘I’ve just come back from the shop and my four-month-old isn’t breathing very well and he’s gone pale and limp’.
Miss Marshall said: “When asked to describe his breathing, India replied ‘he’s not breathing at all and it’s like one gasp every minute. He’s just lying there limp and I’m trying to give him compressions but nothing is really working’.” The prosecutor said paramedics arrived at the address - 31a Acorn Drive, Belper - and Alesbrook was inside performing CPR on Eli.
She said after initially being taken to the hospital in Derby, the baby was transferred to the QMC where scans and examinations were carried out.
Miss Marshall said: “A paediatrician called Patrick Davies examined Elijah at 7pm on January 4, when he noted he was immobile, unresponsive and ventilated. He noted 23 widespread surface injuries on Elijah’s body, six of which were due to medical intervention but 17 of them in his view were caused by inflicted trauma.
“Largely bruises that Elijah presented with on admission, bruises that a four-month-old baby should not have.” She said the day after Eli’s life support was switched off.
A post-mortem examination was carried out by a Dr Hamilton and a cause of death was given as head injury, which led to cardiac arrest and further brain injury. Miss Marshall said: “Dr Hamilton will tell you that having considered all the findings in this case, it is his opinion that Elijah had been violently shaken causing brain injury.
“The bruises and fractures related to the torso are indicative of forceful gripping and the limb fractures, he said, would be in keeping with flailing of the limbs during the shaking.”
The prosecutor said: “Now members of the jury, it is important that you know that whilst it is the prosecution case that it is this defendant that is responsible for causing the injuries and subsequent death of Elijah, the prosecution also says that Elijah’s mother, India Shemwell put frankly, was a thoroughly inadequate mother to Elijah and one who both generally and specifically neglected him and failed to seek prompt medical attention for Elijah.
“You are going to hear evidence from various witnesses in this trial as to the inadequate parenting by Miss Shemwell at the time. And to give you some examples, how she - as did this defendant - smoked large amounts of cannabis in the baby’s presence.
“You will hear how Miss Shemwell used to leave Elijah unattended and isolated in another room for large periods of time, whilst she was probably concentrating on her own needs and smoking cannabis. But where her neglect was the most manifest say the prosecution and ultimately led to Elijah’s death was that on too many occasions, she left her four-month old baby, in the sole care of this defendant, who on any view, as a 16-year-old lad, with little, if any, experience of looking after babies, should not have been given such a responsibility.
“However, whilst the prosecution heavily criticise Miss Shemwell for this neglect towards Elijah, it is not the prosecution’s case that she caused any of the injuries.”
The trial, which is expected to last four weeks, continues.
