Murder-accused Ushaw Moor mum 'sacks' lawyers during trial

A woman accused of murdering her three-year-old son has "sacked" her legal team near her trial's conclusion.

Christina Robinson, 30, is accused of violently shaking her son Dwelaniyah after caning and scalding him.

On the 13th day of her murder trial, and after two days in the witness box at Newcastle Crown Court, Ms Robinson dispensed with her two barristers and solicitor.

A judge has given her the weekend to "consider her position".

She denies murder and child cruelty.

Warning - this article contains distressing content.

Ms Robinson, who was previously sat behind the glass walls of the dock, was in the front row of the lawyer's bench accompanied by a security officer when the judge, Mr Justice Garnham, informed jurors of her decision on Friday morning.

He said: "Ms Robinson has decided to dispense with the services of her barristers and solicitor.

"She is entitled to do that, nobody is required to have a legal team representing them.

"She has decided to sack, effectively, her barristers and her solicitors which she is entitled to do."

Mr Justice Garnham said he would allow Ms Robinson the "rest of the day and weekend" to "consider her position" and "consult with other people if she wishes".

He told jurors: "It means we can do nothing further today so I'm afraid you are going to have an early day on a Friday which I know you will all regret."

Ms Robinson had spent almost nine hours across the previous two days being questioned by her barristers and cross-examined by the prosecution.

Prosecutors have said Ms Robinson, who grew up in Tamworth, Staffordshire, fatally injured Dwelaniyah at their home in Ushaw Moor, near Durham, on 5 November 2022.

Prosecutor Richard Wright KC said the three-year-old suffered excruciating and extensive burns to his lower body 18 days before he died, which were "textbook" injuries of a child being forcibly immersed in hot water.

He said she did it to punish Dwelaniyah for soiling himself and then refused to seek medical attention for fear of being caught harming her son.

Ms Robinson said she was "ashamed" after she injured Dwelaniyah by "accident" with a hot shower while rinsing him, adding she did not get help and was treating him herself as she thought it would "look really bad" for her and was "afraid" no-one would believe her account.

She admitted hitting him across the chest with a bamboo cane an hour or so before he collapsed at their home, but said she was trying to follow the Bible-based teaching of her religion, the Black Hebrew Israelites, which she said advocated using a rod to punish "disobedience".

Ms Robinson said Dwelaniyah was "messing about" with his food after he had been told to stop so she struck him, although she could not recall how many times or what the boy's reaction was.

The court had been anticipating hearing closing speeches from prosecution and defence lawyers on Friday.

The trial continues.

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