Wicked mother faces life in jail after being found guilty of murdering toddler

A wicked mum who claimed the Bible told her to beat her toddler with a cane before she murdered him is facing life behind bars.

In the weeks before his violent death, three-year-old Dwelaniyah Robinson suffered excruciating burns from being forced into scalding water and was subjected to a series of cruel acts by his mum Christina Robinson.

This included being lashed with a cane for "messing with his food".

Newcastle Crown Court heard the little boy died after the emergency services were called to his home on November 5, 2022, by Robinson, who claimed he had stopped breathing while eating a cheese bap.

Paramedics who attended the house at Bracken Court, Ushaw Moor, County Durham, saw the boy's legs were heavily bandaged.

The dressings concealed agonising burn injuries to his legs buttocks and genitals, which covered up to 20% of his body, should have had immediate surgical intervention but had received no proper medical treatment.

Dwelaniyah also had distinctive bruising to his arms and body and a bamboo cane that contained his blood and body tissue was found at their home.

The little boy's death was caused by an impact to his head which caused devastating injuries to his eyes and brain.

The court heard he had suffered similar injury two days earlier, which had started to heal.

Robinson, who was married but pregnant by a sperm donor and had been seeing a man she met on a dating site at the time her son died, denied murder and four charges of cruelty to a person under 16.

The 30-year-old, who showed no emotion at the scene, during questioning or at trial, was found guilty by a jury after a trial.

The former hairdresser and personal trainer had told jurors she wanted a large family, with children in "double figures" and followed the movement of the "Black Hebrew Israelites", which she described as more of a "lifestyle than a religion".

She said the sabbath falls on a Saturday, where the religion allows no work, cooking, cleaning or pleasure and should be focused on "God himself".

Robinson said on the day of Dwelaniyah's death, which was a Saturday, she had been "very happy but very tired" and had been listening to religious teachings on YouTube.

The mum admitted using a cane on the boy that day for "messing around with his food", after she watched a video scripture about chastisement.

She told the court she was not angry and added: "This stems from the teaching that I was listening to, watching.

"The video itself wasn't about chastisement but was something that had been mentioned, something that had popped up, they had quoted certain scriptures which did promote using the rod for correction, so it stemmed from that.

"I took it as this must be the way to do it, to chastise, to discipline a child."

Robinson, who confessed she would leave Dwelaniyah at home unsupervised, claimed the burns happened accidentally as she showered the toddler some weeks earlier. She said she had treated them herself as she had not initially realised how badly injured he was.

She originally told police Dweliyanah had burned himself while messing around with the shower head.

Prosecutor Richard Wright KC told the court Dwelaniyah died at hospital just over an hour after Robinson initially made the call to the emergency services.

The little boy had 70 separate sites of injuries, including the burns, bruises and abrasions.

Mr Wright the court: "His body revealed over a period of time before his death he had been the victim of a series of assaults and had sustained a number of non accidental injuries.

"In other words, somebody had been deliberately hurting this little boy and had been doing so over a period of time.

"That person, say the prosecution, was his mother, the defendant Christina Robinson.

"There is clear evidence that Dwelaniyah had been beating with a weapon in multiple areas of his body, causing line bruising, a distinctive type of bruise seen when someone has been struck with a cylindrical weapon.

"In this case, the little boy had been repeatedly beaten with a bamboo cane by his mother."

Mr Wright said Robinson believed she was "allowed to do so because the bible told her to chastise her child."

The prosecutor said the bandages on Dwelaniyah's legs were covering "extensive" burns and added: "They would have caused excruciating pain both when inflicted and afterwards when not treated or cared for.

"These were very serious burn injuries. Surgery would have been required to treat them. They required immediate medical attention and would have left him scarred for life.

"For weeks after these burns were sustained she sought no help for him and instead watched as every day he struggled in pain with terrible burns bleeding through his bandages she had applied."

The court heard Dwelaniyah's fatal head injuries may have been caused by shaking and or impact with a surface.

Mr Wright said Robinson was sole carer for the little boy and added: "She beat him, she used a weapon on him. She deliberately immersed him in scalding water. She sought no treatment for his injuries.

"She allowed him to suffer in pain for several weeks and not once but twice she inflicted head injuries upon him by forcibly shaking him so hard that on the second occasion she damaged his brain and that in turn caused his heart to stop.

"The prosecution say that the death of Dwelaniyah was not an accident but the end point in a series of violent and cruel acts perpetrated against him by his mother Christina Robinson.

"She injured him, she neglected to threat the injuries she inflicted upon him and then she murdered him."

Christina Robinson, who sacked her legal team when the trial had almost reached conclusion, was advised by trial judge Mr Justice Garnham to seek representation before she is sentenced on May 24.

Speaking from the dock, Robinson, who has showed no emotion throughout the trial, said: "I can consider it."

Justice Garnham told her: "You have, as you have just heard, been convicted by this jury of murder and four charges of child cruelty.

"I will tell you, so that you know, the sentence for murder is one I have to impose as a matter of law and that will be a sentence of life imprisonment but I have to consider what the minimum term you should serve before you are eligible to apply for parole.

"I must also sentence you in respect of the other matters."

At the conclusion of the trial, Justice Garnham said jurors in the case can be excluded from sitting on another jury for the next 20 years.

Detective Chief Inspector Simon Turner, Senior Investigating Officer for Operation Aruana at Durham Constabulary, said: "A child's life is precious.

"Dwelaniyah Robinson had his life sadly taken from him, at just three years of age, having been beaten and abused at the hands of his own mother.

"She tragically subjected him to repeated lashings with a cane, and submerged him in scolding hot water, resulting in nearly 20% burns.

"Even after this horrific abuse she failed to seek treatment, leaving him in significant pain. Just weeks later whilst still suffering, he was then subject to a fatal head injury.

"Christina Robinson lied from the outset, and I am pleased the jury has seen through her lies and convicted her today.

"This has been a truly horrific case, that has affected everyone involved. I would like to thank our investigation team for their dedication and commitment to get justice for Dwelaniyah.

"My thoughts are with those who truly cared about Dwelaniyah. Sadly, nothing can bring him back, but hopefully today's verdict will provide some closure and allow them to grieve."