Teen found guilty of murdering baby boy

A teenager has been found guilty of the murder of a four-month-old baby.

Carl Alesbrook, who was 16 at the time, had been left caring for baby Elijah Shemwell at a property in Acorn Drive, Belper, on 2 January 2022.

At about 10.50pm that night, emergency services were called to the flat after Elijah suffered a cardiac arrest. He was taken to hospital in a critical condition but died three days later.

A post-mortem examination found he had suffered significant injuries in the days leading to his death.

This included a significant brain injury which, in view of medical experts, had been caused by being shaken. He also had a number of broken ribs which had been caused by being squeezed.

The fatal shaking incident took place when Elijah’s mother, India Shemwell, was out of the flat and had left Elijah in the care of Alesbrook.

Shortly after India arrived home around an hour later Elijah was taken ill and she called 999 as Elijah’s breathing became distressed. This agonal breathing was his body’s natural reaction to his brain being starved of oxygen and was the precursor to the heart attack that he suffered shortly after.

Both Shemwell and Alesbrook were arrested in connection with his death – with Alesbrook eventually being charged with murder.

Alesbrook, now 19, pleaded not guilty to all the charges but today, following a month-long trial, he was found guilty of Elijah’s murder.

DCI Greg McGill, who led the investigation into the Elijah’s death, said: “Carl Alesbrook, for reasons that only he knows, decided to shake Elijah, causing him a fatal brain injury.

“While only 16 at the time of the incident, he can have had no doubt about the potentially deadly force he was using on Elijah.

“Elijah’s final hours would have been unbelievably painful and, as a father, it is inconceivable how anyone could behave in such a way to a defenceless child of just four months.”

India Shemwell was earlier charged with two counts of cruelty to a person under 16 – one between 31 December 2021 and 1 January 2022, and the second on January 2^nd 2022.

We are now able to confirm that the 23-year-old, of Rose Hill Street, Derby, pleaded guilty to both cruelty charges at an earlier hearing.

The pair will now be sentenced at a later date.

DCI McGill said: “While only Alesbrook is responsible for Elijah’s death – his mother India Shemwell was a quite simply appalling mother who was more concerned with her sexual relationships and drug taking than ensuring the safety of her child.

“In leaving Elijah with Alesbrook, a teenager who she barely knew, she abandoned her role as his protector, and she must now realise the consequences of her actions.”