The trial of two people accused of the murder of a two-year-old girl in a temporary housing block in Ipswich last summer is set to begin today.

Chelsea Gleason-Mitchell and Scott Jeff are due to appear before Ipswich Crown Court charged with the murder of Gleason-Mitchell's daughter Isabella Wheildon, who was found dead at an address in Sidegate Lane on June 30, 2023.

The toddler's body was discovered after police were called to the Sidegate Lane Temporary Housing Unit shortly after 12pm.

The two defendants, who are believed to have been in a relationship, were arrested the following day in Bury St Edmunds.

They were charged with murder on July 4 and appeared before Suffolk Magistrates' Court the following day, where they were remanded in custody.

Last month, Gleason-Mitchell, 23, appeared before Ipswich Crown Court via video link for a case management hearing, although Jeff, 24, did not.

It was during that hearing that a trial date was fixed for this Monday.

Both defendants are of no fixed address but formerly of Bedfordshire.

Isabella, who was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire, on September 22, 2020, is thought to have died at some point between Monday, June 26 and Friday, June 30, Ipswich Crown Court was previously told.

The court heard that Isabella’s body had been identified by her father, Thomas Wheildon.

Extra police patrols were carried out in east Ipswich in the days after the incident.