Dwelaniyah Robinson's mother 'can't remember' caning details

Dwelaniyah Robinson was fatally injured at his home near Durham in 2022

A mother accused of murdering her three-year-old son said she could not remember how many times she caned him on the day he died, a court has heard.

Dwelaniyah Robinson suffered 19 cane-like injuries shortly before he collapsed at his home near Durham in November 2022, prosecutors said.

Christina Robinson, 30, told Newcastle Crown Court she caned him in accordance with her religion as he was being "disobedient" by playing with his food.

She denies murder and child cruelty.

The court has heard Dwelaniyah collapsed at his home in Ushaw Moor shortly before 16:00 GMT on 5 November 2022.

Warning - this article contains distressing content

His mother said she hit him with a bamboo cane about an hour before as he was "messing around" with his food when she had told him not to.

Ms Robinson, who was a follower of the Black Hebrew Israelites, said the Bible preached using a rod to correct children so she thought hitting him was the "right thing".

Christina Robinson denies murder and child cruelty

Prosecutor Richard Wright KC asked her if she was responsible for all 19 so-called "tramline" injuries on his chest and legs.

Ms Robinson, who is originally from Tamworth in Staffordshire, said she accepted she struck him across the chest but she said she could not remember how many times.

She said it was more than a single blow but she had not been counting and could not now remember.

Judge Mr Justice Garnham asked her if it might have been as many as 19, to which Ms Robinson replied: "I don't believe so, no".

'Flinches and winces'

Mr Wright asked her if she caused eight cane-like marks on Dwelaniyah's shin, to which Ms Robinson said: "I couldn't say, I don't remember to be honest".

The prosecutor also asked her three times how she "felt" about hitting her son, to which she replied: "I believed I was doing the correct thing".

Mr Wright asked her how Dwelaniyah reacted when she was "beating him".

Ms Robinson said she "couldn't say for certain" as it was a "long time ago" but it was possible he gave "flinches and winces".

Christina Robinson is on trial at Newcastle Crown Court

The court has heard Dwelaniyah had suffered extensive scalding to his lower body on 19 October which Ms Robinson said she accidentally caused when she was rinsing him with a hot shower.

She said she tried to treat him rather than seeking medical help because she felt "ashamed" and thought it would "look really bad" for her.

Jurors were shown the showerhead she used to cause the scald marks, with Ms Robinson telling them she knew the shower could get too hot if the mixer tap was turned too high.

Ms Robinson said she checked the temperature of the water before applying it to her son and it was fine and she did not feel any heat from the shower or any hot splashes on herself as she showered her son.

'Doesn't warrant punishment'

Mr Wright said Dwelaniyah's injuries were the "textbook of a child that's been forcibly immersed into a bath of hot water" to which Ms Robinson replied that "doesn't make any sense" as "that's just not what happened".

The prosecutor asked if she lost her temper and was disciplining Dwelaniyah for soiling himself but Ms Robinson denied that and said "toilet training accidents don't warrant punishment".

The court heard she did not seek any medical help for her son's burns despite knowing he was in pain as she was "ashamed" and did not think medical professionals would believe her account of how he got injured.

Mr Wright said it would have been in Dwelaniyah's "best interest" to go to hospital but she had prioritised herself.

"Yes unfortunately I did put my feelings first," Ms Robinson said.

'Going off scriptures'

The court heard she sent messages to a man she was having an affair with saying Dwelaniyah would get a "major ass-kicking" and he would "get exactly what he deserves" after he scattered vitamin tablets on the floor.

Ms Robinson said she was "just venting" but admitted she slapped the three-year-old after he had finished picking up the pills.

Mr Wright asked why, when he was severely injured with the burns, she still wanted to punish him.

"I was going off the scriptures and there is a scripture that says correct the child so I did that," Ms Robinson said, adding: "I felt it was best to correct a child whenever a child was wrong."

Pathologists said Dwelaniyah's death was caused by a combination of the burns and a brain injury caused by a violent shaking moments before he collapsed.

Ms Robinson said she would not have had the "strength" or "energy" to shake her son that day as she had low iron caused by pregnancy, having become pregnant in September 2022 from a sperm donor.

She said she was "completely clueless" as to how her son died but believed it was a "choking incident".

'Heated situation'

Mr Wright said she was "irritated" by her son and had "had enough" of the "inconvenience" of him.

Ms Robinson said none of that was true, adding she "loved" and "cared for" him.

She said it took more than 20 minutes for her to call an ambulance after he collapsed because it was a "heated situation" and she was panicking, adding she was trying to save his life by performing CPR.

She admitted giving multiple lies to police but said she was "afraid" and did not think she would be believed if she told the truth.

The trial continues.