Toddler allegedly murdered by his own mother was 'covered in minor injuries' when he died, court told

A toddler who was allegedly murdered by his own mother was "covered in minor injuries" when he died, jurors have heard.  Christina Robinson caned and scalded three-year-old Dwelaniyah Robinson and left him living in "excruciating pain" for weeks before she murdered him in November 2022, prosecutors claim.  Robinson, 28, of Bracken Court, Ushaw Moor, County Durham, denies murder and child cruelty and is being tried by a jury at Newcastle Crown Court. Forensic pathologist Peter Cooper examined Dwelaniyah's body after his death and found more than 70 sites of injuries including bruises, abrasions and significant burns.  The court heard some of the injuries could have been accidental and some could have been from resuscitation attempts.  Dr Cooper told the court: "He was covered in minor injuries, back and front.  "I don't see how they can all be just normal wear and tear, normal accidental contact. Some, sure, a couple of bruises on the forehead could easily have been normal toddler falling over type injuries but not all of them." Jurors have heard Dr Cooper was one of several doctors to examine Dwelaniyah's body and the medical evidence suggests he died as a result of a head injury.  But Dr Cooper said the burns, which covered 20 per cent of Dwelaniyah's body, could have contributed to his death.  He told jurors: "They would have been extremely debilitating, excruciatingly painful, presumably persistently, unless given adequate analgesia." Dr Cooper said such burns would be "very hard work for the body to heal" and added: "I think on the day he died he was already significantly debilitated, under significant stress.   "Twenty per cent surface area is a very significant area of burns. For those reasons I think they have probably contributed to his death.  "He wasn't a fit and healthy three-year-old at the time he suffered his head injury.  "I think it's likely he would have died anyway but he would have been in a better position to withstand the affect of the head injury." Dr Cooper said Dwelaniyah's cause of death was "head injury and inflicted burns". Robinson told the emergency services Dwelaniyah had made spluttering noises while eating a cheese bap and he then went "limp".  She said she had performed CPR on the boy until the paramedics arrived. The trial continues.