Shocking moment mother lied to police that her son, three, had choked on a cheese bap after she beat him to death - as she is convicted of murder for campaign of violence she inflicted 'because Bible told her to'

This is the shocking moment a mother lied to police that her young son had choked on a cheese bap after she beat him to death at their family home.

Christina Robinson, 30, was today found guilty of murder at Newcastle Crown Court after carrying out months of violence she claimed the Bible told her to inflict.

Robinson lost her temper and violently shook her son Dwelaniyah at the home in Ushaw Moor, Durham, in November 2022.

The defendant, originally from Tamworth in Staffordshire, has today been convicted of murder and four child cruelty charges.

The jury found that Robinson did cause a fatal brain injury to her son on November 5 2022 while she was the only adult in the house.

Christina Robinson (pictured) has been found guilty of murdering her son Dwelaniyah, three

She previously scalded her son Dwelaniyah (pictured) and beat him with a bamboo cane 

Robinson, seen here being interviewed by police talked about the Bible encouraging the use of the rod for discipline when asked whether she beat her son

Robinson told her trial she used the bamboo cane (pictured) to hit Dwelaniyah because he was messing around with his food

Robinson, a member of the extremist Black Hebrew Israelite religion, admitted hitting the little boy with a bamboo cane but insisted she was following a Bible scripture which advised the use of the rod for the 'correction' of children.

She told the court her reason to use the cane was that the youngster was messing around with his food.

In the weeks before Dwelaniyah's death, she had deliberately immersed him in scalding water, causing severe burns that would have caused excruciating pain.

She treated his injuries herself and did not seek medical help as safeguarding concerns would have been obvious if a health worker saw him.

It was more than 20 minutes before she dialled 999, first speaking to her husband on the phone despite him being away serving with the RAF 240 miles away, and then using Google to look at how to resuscitate a child.

Her chilling 999 phone call was played during the trial, in which she could be heard telling an operator she did not think her son was breathing.

She was recorded saying: 'He's only three. He's not breathing. He was eating and then his eyes just went all weird and then... I've been doing CPR for about five minutes.' 

When the emergency services arrived, Robinson appeared calm as she explained her version of events to a police officer while medics worked desperately on Dwelaniyah.

Despite their efforts at the scene Dwelaniyah could not be saved and probably died at the house, although further attempts to resuscitate him were made in hospital.

A post-mortem examination revealed he had been the victim of a series of assaults and had sustained a number of non-accidental injuries.

When interviewed by police, in footage released today after the verdict, Robinson told officers her son often had problems chewing his food.

She said of the day he died: He had a brown wholemeal cob with grated cheese. I didn't see it straight away but I did see out of the corner of my eye his head had dropped.

'I could hear the sound of when you're drowning and trying to gasp for air.' 

Richard Wright, prosecuting, told the trial in his closing speech: 'Somebody had been deliberately hurting this little boy and had been doing so over a period of time. That person was his mother, the defendant Christina Robinson.'

'He was subjected to a campaign of violence and cruelty by his mother for petty wrongs.'

Her husband, Dwelaniyah's father Gabriel Adu-Appau was away from the family home when his son was repeatedly injured and did not play any role in the trial.

Robinson, who was representing herself after sacking her legal team, was also found guilty at Newcastle Crown Court of four child cruelty charges

Pictured: Detectives search Robinson's home in Ushaw Moor, County Durham

His wife was using a sperm donor to try to conceive and, in October 2022, had also made contact with a man named Chisom Innocent Onoja using a dating app.

When she became pregnant, Robinson was in regular contact with health professionals, although she was not willing to get treatment for her son's injuries.

The former fitness instructor shared her eye-opening views on parenting and discipline in a voice note to her lover - a man she was seeing while her husband was away serving in the RAF.

Police retrieved the message Robinson sent to Chisom Innocent Onoja which said that typically one parent is stricter than the other, but that her husband was not there.

She told him: I have been both father and mother this whole time. I have to split myself, I have to be really, really hard, but then I am the loving, caring one at the same time.

She said that, when children get older, it becomes the role of the father 'to do the ass-kicking and then that Dwelaniyah was going to get 'his ass kicked' for spilling her medication on the floor.

Robinson, who told the court she wanted 'double figures' children and had looked into becoming a surrogate mother for a friend, said listening to a religious lesson online led her to beat Dwelaniyah with a cane as a 'correction' for messing about with his food.

She said she had since realised she was 'misguided' about how to follow the teachings.

She said: 'I have had the opportunity to get into the Bible more and understand and get to know God more - my relationship with Him is great. Looking back I can see how much of a babe I was then - like a beginner.'

Robinson also claimed not to have realised she was wrong to leave Dwelaniyah at home alone with another boy while she went out shopping or to pick up Mr Onoja from the railway station, leaving the children at risk of fire, accident or a break-in.

The judge Mr Justice Garnham said this afternoon he would sentence Robinson on May 24.

He raised concerns that she no longer had legal representation, after she sacked her barristers and lawyers towards the end of the trial.

He told her: 'As a result I’m not going to sentence you today. The question arises as to when I should sentence you. Are you willing to or intending to obtain legal assistance for that stage of the process?'

After she replied, 'I can consider it', Mr Justice Garnham added: 'I advise you in the strongest possible terms to consider it very carefully.'

The judge also thanked the jury, some of whom were visibly upset, for their 'obvious care and attention', and excused them from further service for 20 years.

He told them: 'I know from looking at you, this has been a stressful process, you need to get away and do something else, and think about something more cheerful.

'I am extremely grateful for all you have done.'

Detective Chief Insp Simon Turner, senior investigating officer at Durham Constabulary, said after the verdict that Robinson had come up with a 'web of lies' to cover up her unnecessary violence.

He said: 'A child’s life is precious. Dwelaniyah Robinson had his life sadly taken from him, at just three years of age, having been beaten and abused at the hands of his own mother.

'She tragically subjected him to repeated lashings with a cane, and submerged him in scalding hot water, resulting in nearly 20 per cent burns.

Pictured: Forensics at the scene where Dwelaniyah was found 'covered in minor injuries' which Robinson claimed were caused by her son bumping into furniture in the family home

Robinson, pictured being interviewed by police after her arrest, will be sentenced on May 24

Police revealed the bamboo cane used by Robinson to beat her son Dwelaniyah

'Even after this horrific abuse she failed to seek treatment, leaving him in significant pain. Just weeks later whilst still suffering, he was then subject to a fatal head injury.

'Christina Robinson lied from the outset, and I am pleased the jury has seen through her lies and convicted her today. 

'This has been a truly horrific case, that has affected everyone involved. I would like to thank our investigation team for their dedication and commitment to get justice for Dwelaniyah.

'My thoughts are with those who truly cared about Dwelaniyah. Sadly, nothing can bring him back, but hopefully today’s verdict will provide some closure and allow them to grieve.'