Toddler, three, 'scalded with boiling water by his mother before being beat to death with a cane' had over 70 injuries including a brain injury and infected burns, court hears
- Christina Robinson's son, Dwelaniyah, died in November 2022
A toddler's mother allegedly scolded him with boiling water and hit him with a bamboo cane in the weeks before his death, jurors heard.
Christina Robinson, 30, is accused of causing a fatal head injury to her three-year-old son, Dwelaniyah, by violently shaking him at the family home in Durham, in November 2022.
She is also accused of deliberately scalding his legs and buttocks and hitting him with a bamboo cane in the weeks before his death.
The married defendant, who is originally from Staffordshire, denies murder and a child cruelty charge.
Newcastle Crown Court heard Robinson claims she was allowed to chastise the little boy according to the teachings of the Bible.
Christina Robinson, 30, is accused of causing a fatal head injury to her three-year-old son, Dwelaniyah (pictured), by violently shaking him at the family home in Durham, in November 2022
She is also accused of deliberately scalding his legs and buttocks and hitting him with a bamboo cane in the weeks before his death
Home Office pathologist Dr Nigel Cooper carried out a post-mortem examination on Dwelaniyah and reported that he had suffered 20 per cent burns to his body, which would have been extremely painful.
He weighed 2st 3lb and was 3ft 2in tall, the pathologist recorded.
Robinson claimed her son was injured by hot water when he was playing in the shower, although the prosecution disputes that, saying he was deliberately scalded on his legs and buttocks.
The mother did not seek medical help for the burns and treated his injuries herself, the jury heard.
Dr Cooper said Dwelaniyah's cause of death was a head injury and infected burns.
He said the burns would have contributed to his death to some extent because his body would have been working hard to cope with the trauma, repairing the damage and fighting infection.
Asked about the impact of the burns, Dr Cooper told the court: 'He was not a fit and healthy three-year-old.
'It is likely he would have died anyway but he would have been in a better position to withstand the head injury (had he not suffered the burns).'
Robinson claimed Dwelaniyah choked while eating a cheese bap, but Dr Cooper said that did not account for the head injuries he observed during the post-mortem examination.
The mother did not seek medical help for the burns and treated his injuries herself, the jury heard. Pictured: Police and forensic officers at the scene in Ushaw Moor, County Durham in 2022, after Dwelaniyah Robinson died
A forensic officer at the home in Durham where Dwelaniyah was found unconscious
Robinson contacted the emergency services on November 5, 2022 claiming her son had stopped breathing after 'his eyes went all weird' while he was eating.
Paramedics worked on him before taking Dwelaniyah, whose heart had stopped, to hospital but he could not be saved.
The jury has been told Robinson was having an affair with a man she met on a dating site and had got pregnant using a separate sperm donor.
Her husband was away working for the RAF at the time of their son's death, the court has heard.
The trial continues.
