Christina Robinson had beaten her son with a bamboo cane, hit him with spoons, and deliberately scalded him as punishment in the weeks before he died of a brain injury.
A mother who murdered her three-year-old son after a “campaign of violence” has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 25 years.
Warning: This story contains details some may find upsetting
Christina Robinson, 30, violently shook her son Dwelaniyah Robinson at the family home in Bracken Court, Ushaw Moor, Durham, causing a fatal brain injury in November 2022.
During a three-week trial at Newcastle Crown Court, the prosecution said Robinson slapped and beat her son with a bamboo cane and hit him with spoons in the weeks leading up to his death.
After his death, investigators found a broken cane in her house which had traces of his skin and blood on it.
The court heard Robinson, a member of the Black Hebrew Israelite religion, claimed the Bible advised the use of the rod for the “correction” of children weeks before she murdered him.
She also neglected him by leaving him alone at home and deliberately scalded him as punishment, causing severe burns that left him in agony.
Robinson, who is originally from Tamworth, Staffordshire, told the court her son’s burns occurred accidentally while she washed him in the shower and she did not seek medical attention for him because she was ashamed.
Richard Wright KC, prosecuting, previously said as much as 20% of Dwelaniyah’s body was covered in burns that would have caused excruciating pain for several weeks.
Moment mother is arrested for murdering her son
Robinson was the only adult in the house when her son suffered the brain injury that killed him, jurors were told.
She waited 20 minutes before calling 999, first calling her husband, who was 240 miles away serving with the RAF at the time, and then using Google to look for ways to resuscitate a child.
A post-mortem examination revealed he had been the victim of a series of assaults and had sustained a number of non-accidental injuries.
Mr Wright said: “In other words, somebody had been deliberately hurting this little boy and had been doing so over a period of time.
“That person was his mother, the defendant Christina Robinson.”
In his closing speech, Mr Wright told the court the boy was “subjected to a campaign of violence and cruelty by his mother for petty wrongs”.
Robinson was also convicted of child neglect by leaving Dwelaniyah at home while she had an affair behind her husband’s back.
Robinson was found guilty of murder and four child cruelty offences, said to have taken place in the weeks leading up to Dwelaniyah’s death, when she was convicted on Thursday 21 March.
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William Turner is a seasoned U.K. correspondent with a deep understanding of domestic affairs. With a passion for British politics and culture, he provides insightful analysis and comprehensive coverage of events within the United Kingdom.
