Teenager handed indefinite jail sentence after shaking partner's baby to death
by Will Conroy · LBCBy Will Conroy
A teenager has been handed an indefinite sentence after murdering his partner's baby when he was 16 years old.
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Carl Alesbrook, now aged 19, was found guilty of murdering 4-month-old Elijah Shemwell on 11 July following a trial at Derby Crown Court.
Elijah died on 5 January 2022, three days after he was found to be pale, limp and drowsy at his mother's home in Belper, Derbyshire.
The baby suffered "catastrophic" brain injuries after being shaken by Alesbrook, who had only met Elijah's mother India Shemwell seven weeks earlier in November 2021.
Alesbrook caused whiplash-type injuries, bleeding on the brain and multiple bone fractures.
Elijah had limb and rib fractures, as well as 17 bruises around his chest, back and stomach consistent with grip marks, jurors at Derby Crown Court were told.
The defendant, previously of Upper Greenhill Gardens, Matlock in Derbyshire, denied murdering Elijah but was unanimously convicted after the five-week trial in July.
He was handed a minimum term of 14 years, minus the time he has already served, at Derby Crown Court on Friday.
Medical evidence presented to the trial suggested Elijah had been shaken on at least three separate occasions, including New Year's Day and the day he was taken to hospital.
His ex-partner, India Shemwell, was sentenced to three years' imprisonment at the same court after she admitted two counts of child cruelty in December last year.
She was working away from home when Alesbrook shook Elijah.