Mother who murdered son after 'campaign of violence' jailed for 25 years

A mother who caned, scalded and murdered her three-year-old son was jailed for at least 25 years.

Christina Robinson, 30, subjected Dwelaniyah to "extreme cruelty" in the weeks before his death in November 2022.

She denied killing or injuring her son, who had suffered extensive and excruciating burns to his bottom half, but admitted caning him in accordance with her religious beliefs.

Dwelaniyah, who had more than 60 injuries at the time of his death, was regularly and "violently" punished by his mother, including being forced into a bath of scalding hot water 18 days before he died.

Robinson, of Ushaw Moor near Durham but originally from Tamworth, Staffordshire, told jurors she was following the teachings of her religion, the Black Hebrew Israelites, which preached punishing children.

She was found guilty of murder and child cruelty after a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.

The judge, Mr Justice Garnham, jailed her for life with a minimum term of 25 years.

He said: "What must have gone through the mind of this little boy being beaten with a cane by his mother despite these terrible burns does not bear thinking about."

The judge's sentencing remarks can be read in full at: https://www.judiciary.uk/judgments/r-...

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