Ushaw Moor murder-accused mum 'calm' as medics treated son

A mother accused of murdering her three-year-old son appeared "calm and unpanicked" while medics were trying to revive him, a court has heard.

Christina Robinson, 30, is accused of killing Dwelaniyah Robinson at their home near Durham after weeks of abuse involving beatings with a cane and scalding with hot water.

Jurors at Newcastle Crown Court have heard the 999 call she made after he fell unconscious on 5 November 2022.

Ms Robinson denies murder.

The court heard Ms Robinson called 999 at about 16:10 GMT to say her son was unconscious at their home on Bracken Court in Ushaw Moor.

Asked by the call handler if he was breathing, Ms Robinson replied: "I don't think so."

She said Dwelaniyah had been "eating then his eyes just went all weird".

Jurors heard her counting as she performed chest compressions under the instruction of the 999 call handler, adding at one point she could hear a "gargling sound".

PSCO Paul Gilroy, who was among the first to arrive at the house along with paramedics, said he saw Ms Robinson standing at the front door "gesturing" for them to come inside.

He said he went up to the bedroom where Dwelaniyah was lying on the floor.

Mr Gilroy said he could see the boy's legs were wrapped in "blood-stained" bandages.

In his opening speech, prosecutor Richard Wright KC said the bottom half of Dwelaniyah's body had been severely burned by hot water in the weeks before his death, but Ms Robinson never sought any medical help for him.

Mr Gilroy said Ms Robinson stood to one side watching as medics started treating her son.

"She never said much really," Mr Gilroy said, adding: "I asked the lady if she was ok, she simply replied 'yeah'.

"She was really quiet, calm, seemingly unpanicked."

The PCSO said the only time she looked at him was when she asked if she should get changed out of her nightgown to go to hospital.

Nicola Mullins, a doctor with the Great North Air Ambulance, said she arrived at about 16:30 having been told it was a suspected choking incident which had led to collapse.

She said it was clear Dwelaniyah's heart had stopped with three attempts to shock it back into beating proving unsuccessful.

"How poorly was this little boy?" Mr Wright asked.

"He was dead," Dr Mullins said.

She said it was "very quickly apparent" he had other injuries which "raised concerns" including scratches and "severe" scalds.

Dwelaniyah was taken to the University Hospital of North Durham by ambulance where he was formally pronounced dead at about 18:00.

PC Emma Watson, whose role was to help Ms Robinson get organised and travel to hospital, said there was "no sense of urgency" from Dwelaniyah's mother, adding she had been "calm and composed".

When doctors told Ms Robinson her son was dead or dying, she cried and said "what next", PC Watson said.

The officer was wearing a camera which filmed Ms Robinson as she was quizzed by doctors about her son's injuries.

In the footage, Ms Robinson said the scald marks were "just shower burns" from him "messing around" three or fours weeks previously, which she tried to cool down with cold water and tried to treat with a "little bit of knowledge of first aid".

She said she bought burn creams online and changed the bandages everyday, adding he had been "fine" and his usual "quiet" self.

Ms Robinson, whose husband Gabriel Adu-Appau was working away with the RAF, said Dwelaniyah had been his "normal self" on 5 November and they were having a "family day" sitting around and watching TV.

She said she gave him a cheese sandwich when he fell unwell.

The court has heard Ms Robinson admitted beating her son with a cane as chastising a child was allowed by the bible.

The trial continues.

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