Murderer Christina Robinson beat, burned and killed her own toddler before spinning a web of lies to cover up her callous acts.
Despite saying she wanted more than ten children Robinson, 30, proved herself unfit to be a mother, subjecting Dwelaniyah to a campaign of violence and cruelty.
The former personal trainer lost her temper and shook the three-year-old on November 5, 2022 - the day he died of a fatal head injury and infected burns.
Her son spent his final weeks at the family home on Bracken Court in Ushaw Moor, County Durham in “excruciating pain” after she beat him, scaled him, failed to seek treatment for his injuries, and she repeatedly left him home alone with his younger brother.
The cold-blooded mum, who lived in Bulgaria for seven years where she worked as a mobile hairdresser, was today found guilty by a jury of murder and four counts of child cruelty towards her son following a three-week trial at Newcastle Crown Court. She denied the charges against her.
A senior detective who investigated the case on Operation Aruana described her abuse as “truly horrific”. She faces life in jail when she’s sentenced in May.
In the weeks before his death she deliberately immersed him in scaling water causing 15 to 20% burns to his body - on his upper legs, buttocks and genitals.
An expert said he would have needed several surgeries throughout his life for the burns, but she decided to treat them herself and kept him off nursery, knowing professionals would have asked questions about how they were inflicted.
She bought dressings online and Googled natural remedies, but the jury was told he would have been in excruciating pain while she bandaged the burns herself.
When asked by officers she initially claimed he’d burnt himself messing around in the shower, then changed her story saying she’d accidentally inflicted the burns trying to shower him clean of faeces and hadn’t realised how hot the water had got.
A neighbour said they heard “whimpering” through the night and Robinson’s boyfriend Chisom Innocent Onoja, who she was seeing while her husband was away, said the boy “was squinting and grunting a little when he walked”. The mum even lied to him saying she was going to take him to hospital, but she never did.
Meanwhile she managed to take herself off for appointments after falling pregnant through a sperm donor in her endeavours to have more than 10 children.
She would leave Dwelaniyah and his brother at home while she attended her own medical appointments and to pick up her Mr Onoja – who she met on the OK Cupid dating site - from the train station, despite claiming she struggled to leave the house because she was alone with the children.
Robinson, a follower of the Black Hebrew Israelites religion, admitted beating him with a bamboo garden cane, saying the Bible told her she could chastise her child. On the day he died she hit him with the cane for “messing around” with his food and had previously beat him with a spoon.
That cane was found bloodied and with traces of his skin on it while he had more than 60 marks across his body.
She'd previously sent Mr Onoja voice notes saying her son would get his "ass kicked" for misbehaving.
When Dwelaniyah collapsed at the family home on Bonfire Night 2022, she waited 19 minutes before calling 999 for paramedics.
Prosecutors said she knew she couldn’t call for an ambulance as the extent of his injuries, and her cruelty, would be uncovered.
Instead, she sent messages to her ex-pharmacist husband Gabriel, who was away on an RAF base, asking him to call her, and Googled how to perform CPR.
When she eventually dialled 999 after speaking to her husband, she claimed he’d chocked on a cheese bap, but when medics arrived they found no evidence of food in his airway.
While doctors performed CPR on her son in the next room, one officer said she appeared “quiet, calm and unpanicked”. Another said she was slow to get ready to follow Dwelaniyah in an ambulance to hospital.
PC Emma Watson said Robinson argued with her husband, who had stayed on the phone, asking him, ‘Are you saying this is my fault?’, and said the mum, originally from Tamworth, “silently cried” when her son passed away.
A postmortem found that he died from a head injury that could only have been caused by shaking or being thrown against something.
There was also evidence of a second head injury, which is thought to have been sustained a few days before his death.
She admitted lying in interviews and in court, telling the jury she “didn’t believe that anyone would believe the truth” as she summed up her own case on Tuesday after dramatically sacking her own legal team.
Her biggest lie came as she pleaded to jurors, “I did not kill my son”.
Concluding the trial High Court Judge Mr Justice Neil Garnham told Robinson: "You have, as you have just heard, been convicted by this jury of murder and four counts of child cruelty."
He will sentence her before the same court on May 24. He warned her she faces a life sentence for murder.
Speaking outside the court on Newcastle’s Quayside DCI Simon Turner said, “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 per cent 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.”
Recommended reading:
- LISTEN: Disturbing voice note murderous mum sent saying son would get 'ass kicked'
- Pictures show bloodied cane mum used to beat her son with on day he died
- Here's the moment County Durham mum who murdered three-year-old son is arrested
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The NSPCC described the pain and suffering she inflicted on him as “heartbreaking”.
An NSPCC spokesperson said: “Every child deserves a happy and safe childhood, and the pain and suffering inflicted on Dwelaniyah by his mother before she violently took his life is heartbreaking. Our thoughts go out to all those who knew and loved this little boy.
“All of us have a responsibility to look out for children, and to speak up for them when they might not be able to. We would encourage anyone with concerns about a child’s safety and wellbeing to visit the NSPCC website or speak to our Helpline for guidance. If a child is in immediate danger, always phone 999.”
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