A woman in the UK has been found guilty of killing her 3-year-old son and will spend at least 25 years in prison.
Christina Robinson, 30, was convicted by a jury for causing the injuries that led to her son Dwelaniyah's death in 2022.
According to official documents, Dwelaniyah died from a serious head injury.
Officials said the injury could only have been caused by being shaken or thrown against a hard surface.
Further investigations found that the toddler had also suffered another head injury a few days before he died.
The head trauma was just one part of the abuse Dwelaniyah suffered.
The 3-year-old had more than 60 burn marks on his body.
The burns on his lower half were extremely bad, and it was likely caused from being put in boiling water.
Authorities believe the burns were caused up to three weeks before he died.
Instead of getting medical help, Robinson looked for first aid help online and tried to treat the wounds herself with bandages.
For two weeks after the burns, neighbors said they heard whimpering sounds coming from Robinson's home.
Even though the injuries were very serious, Robinson made up elaborate lies to hide the abuse.
On November 5, 2022, Robinson called for an ambulance, claiming that Dwelaniyah had choked on a sandwich and was not breathing.
No evidence of choking was found, and records showed she waited nearly 20 minutes after his collapse before calling for help.
The boy was rushed to the hospital but died shortly after arrival.
While searching Robinson's home, they found a cane with the toddler's blood on it, which adds to the proof of her abusive actions.
Police also found that Dwelaniyah had ingested tablets from the kitchen and vomited them up, but once again, Robinson did not seek medical help.
Instead, she sent a WhatsApp message saying that the boy would "get what he deserves."
Robinson's messages showed that she often left both Dwelaniyah and his younger sibling home alone for up to two hours.
Even though she admitted to beating Dwelaniyah as part of her religious beliefs, Robinson denied causing his death or hurting him.
Court Proceedings
In court, she maintained her innocence, saying, "I did not kill my child in any way. I stand by that and will forever stand by that. I pray for the day justice will be served."
She said she was following a Bible verse that suggested using a rod to 'correct' children.
Christina Robinson was part of the Black Hebrew Israelite religion, and her mistaken religious beliefs led to the harm she caused the young boy.
The judge said: “You were a follower of a religious group known as the Black Hebrew Israelites and would listen to lectures or sermons from the group’s speakers on YouTube.
“Mistakenly, as you subsequently admitted was the case, you took the teaching of that group to indicate it was appropriate to punish your children by beating them with a bamboo cane.”
He added: “These beatings were all administered as punishments for behaviour that was objectively trivial but which you considered worthy of severe punishment.
“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 abuse happened while the little boy's father was far away at an RAF base near Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
The judge agreed that when she shook Dwelaniyah, which caused fatal brain injuries, she didn't mean to kill him.
But he rejected claims that she was motivated by sadism, saying she took pleasure from inflicting pains on her son
The judge described her treatment of Dwelaniyah in the final weeks of her son's life as extremely terrible.
This was shown in messages she sent to her boyfriend saying "Dwelaniyah deserved a “major ass kicking”, that “he’s old enough to know better, so he’ll pay” and that “he’ll get what he deserves, no more, no less”.
Robinson represented herself and continues to deny she killed her son, saying: “I pray for the day when justice will be served.”
Durham Constabulary’s Detective Chief Inspector Simon Turner commented on the tragic case, saying, “Dwelaniyah was a defenseless little boy who had his life ahead of him, but this was cruelly taken away by his own mother – someone he should have been able to trust and rely on.”
“We may never know why Christina Robinson did what she did,” Turner added.
“Her actions are unforgivable, and while nothing can bring Dwelaniyah back, she is now facing the consequences of her actions."
If you suspect child abuse, contact the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child (1-800-422-4453) or visit www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
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