A mother who beat her toddler with a bamboo cane claiming the Bible "told her she could do it", is facing life in prison for the murder of her son.
Christina Robinson, aged 30, originally from Tamworth in Stafforshire, killed three-year-old Dwelaniyah Robinson by violently shaking him at their home.
She is a self-proclaimed follower of the Black Hebrew Israelites religion.
Court records show Robinson not only shook Dwelaniyah to death but also hit him with a cane and deliberately scalded his legs and buttocks, causing severe burns.
Despite his suffering, she did not seek medical help, fearing that health workers would notice the safeguarding concerns.
In November 2022, Robinson denied killing Dwelaniyah at their home in Bracken Court, Ushaw Moor, Durham. However, earlier this year, she was convicted by a jury of murder and four charges of child cruelty.
Robinson now faces a life sentence for her crimes, with her fate to be determined on 24th May.
During the trial at Newcastle Crown Court, it was revealed that Robinson subjected her son to weeks of cruelty and excruciating pain before his death.
She caused a fatal brain injury while she was the only adult in the house. Instead of immediately calling for help, she waited over 20 minutes to dial 999, first speaking to her husband, who was 240 miles away serving with the RAF.
Robinson then used Google to look up how to resuscitate a child. She appeared calm as she lied to a police officer while medics tried desperately to save her son.
The boy likely died at the house, though further resuscitation attempts were made in the hospital.
A post-mortem examination revealed he had suffered a series of assaults and sustained numerous non-accidental injuries.
Prosecutor Richard Wright KC stated in his closing speech, "He was subjected to a campaign of violence and cruelty by his mother for petty wrongs."
During her trial, Robinson admitted to using a bamboo garden cane on Dwelaniyah, claiming she was "misguided" by a Bible scripture describing it as a form of "correction".
Representing herself after parting from her legal team, Robinson addressed the jury, saying, "My reasons behind it were simply that I believed I was doing the right thing, it is in the Bible." She pleaded with jurors not to convict her of murder, insisting, "Please do not find me guilty of something I have not done."
After Dwelaniyah's death, police found a broken cane at the family home with traces of his skin and blood on it. Robinson was also convicted of child neglect for leaving Dwelaniyah at home while she had an affair during her husband's absence.