Dwelaniyah Robinson murder-accused mum 'ashamed' of scalds

A mum accused of murdering her three-year-old son did not seek help for his scald injuries because she thought it "looked bad" for her, jurors heard.

Dwelaniyah Robinson had 20% burns inflicted on his legs in the weeks before he was fatally injured at his home, near Durham, in November 2022.

Christina Robinson, 30, who denies murder and child cruelty, told Newcastle Crown Court she did not realise a hot shower was hurting him.

She admitted hitting him with a cane.

Warning - this article contains distressing content

The court has heard Dwelaniyah died from a combination of the burns, which covered his lower body, and a brain injury suffered at his home in Ushaw Moor on 5 November.

Ms Robinson told jurors she went to shower Dwelaniyah on the morning of 19 October after he soiled his pyjamas.

She said he was already crying and "screaming" as he feared the showerhead, and she did not realise the water had got so hot.

Afterwards he was "quiet" and she noticed his legs had gone a "burgundy colour", Ms Robinson said under questioning from her barrister, Jamie Hill KC.

The court heard she made multiple internet searches over the following days about how to treat burns and ordered bandages, painkillers, dressings and antiseptic creams.

Ms Robinson said she thought it was only a "very minor" wound which she could treat, but realised it was more serious after three days.

"At that point, when I realised the actual damage and extent of the burns, so many days had passed and I just felt ashamed," Ms Robinson said, adding she "felt really, really bad" and "knew it would look really bad" for her.

She said she felt "responsible for doing this by accident to him" and it was her "responsibility to take care of it", adding: "I went straight into care mode."

The trial has heard Ms Robinson was having an affair with 27-year-old Chisom Innocent Onoja, from Middlesbrough, while her husband, Gabriel Adu-Appau, was working away with the RAF near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.

In messages sent to Mr Onoja, Ms Robinson said her son would get a "major ass-kicking" after spilling vitamin pills.

Ms Robinson said that did "not necessarily" mean physical punishment, adding she was "just in a mood".

She admitted she did slap him on the back in chastisement, adding "it wouldn't have been gentle", but he had not been injured by it.

Ms Robinson also admitted striking Delwaniyah across the chest with a cane just an hour or so before he collapsed.

She told the court it was the first time she had ever hit her son with the cane and she did it to stop him "messing about" with his food.

Ms Robinson said she was a new follower of the Black Hebrew Israelites and had been watching videos which said a rod should be used to chastise a child.

She said she "honestly thought" she was "doing the right thing", adding: "I just really wanted to be obedient to God and I thought this was part of it."

She said looking back, she had been "misguided" and lacked "understanding", adding her relationship with God now was "great".

In cross-examination, Richard Wright KC said Dwelaniyah had suffered more than 60 injuries including 19 apparently inflicted by the cane.

He asked if she stood by a claim made to detectives that she had "done her best" by her son or would she accept she had "failed him completely".

Ms Robinson replied, apart from where she was "misguided with the scriptures" and not taking him to hospital, that "yes", she "did the best that [she] could" for her child.

Ms Robinson said Dwelaniyah made a "gargling" or "gasping" sound while eating a cheese bap on the living room floor and "collapsed" shortly before 16:00.

She said he carried him upstairs, scooped food out of his mouth and did an internet search for performing CPR on a child.

Mr Hill asked her why she did not contact emergency services for about 20 minutes, to which Ms Robinson replied: "It honestly did not cross my mind, it really, really didn't."

Ms Robinson refuted a police officer's claim she "lacked any urgency" to follow her son to the hospital, and said she was not someone who showed public emotion.

She said she lied to police when she told them Dwelaniyah had been playing alone in the shower when he was burned because she was "afraid" and "ashamed".

She denied shaking her son, adding she had low iron so would not have had the energy to harm him.

She said her son was "clumsy" and she had seen him fall face-first a number of times.

The court heard she grew up in Tamworth, Staffordshire, and, after seven years living in Bulgaria, moved to the North East with Mr Adu-Appau six months after Dwelaniyah was born.

She said by September 2022 she was "completely done" with their marriage as her husband's career was "more important to him".

She said she "wanted a very large family" with "double figures" of children but her husband did not, claiming he said he "didn't care" after she had several miscarriages.

Ms Robinson said Mr Adu-Appau disciplined Dwelaniyah with punishments ranging from a telling off to "something physical" using utensils, shoes or a piece of wood.

She also admitted they would regularly leave their son home alone for up to half an hour at a time.

She said it was the "norm" for Dwelaniyah to be left while she and her husband made a "quick nip to the shops", if Mr Adu-Appau "went for a run" or if he took her to a "nail appointment".

"We shouldn't have done it," she said, but added she always thought her son was safe.

The trial continues.

Follow BBC North East on Facebook, X (formerly Twitter), and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [email protected].