Blood found on a teddy bear after boy, 3, ‘killed by his own mum’
Blood from a three-year-old whose mother is charged with murdering him was found on his teddy bear, a jury has been told.
Christina Robinson, 30, is on trial accused of causing a fatal injury to her son Dwelaniyah by violently shaking him at her house in Bracken Court, Ushaw Moor, Durham, in November 2022.
She is accused of deliberately scalding Dwelaniyah with water, causing excruciatingly painful burns to his legs and buttocks, and of using a bamboo cane to hit him in the weeks before his death.
Robinson, originally from Tamworth, Staffordshire, denies the charges of murder and child cruelty.
She claimed she was allowed to chastise her son according to the Bible’s teachings, Newcastle crown court has heard.
Prosecutor Richard Wright KC read out a series of agreed facts as he closed the prosecution case in the trial.
This included forensic scientists detecting blood stains on Dwelaniyah’s teddy bear and in various rooms around the house.
Mr Wright said it was agreed that ‘the totality of the blood of Dwelaniyah’ distributed around the home was greater than might be expected from relatively minor injuries.
Blood stains were also found on the frame of a door from the kitchen to the hall, on a rug in the lounge, on a panel in the bathroom and on the carpet in front of his cot.
In addition to this, blood stains found on the stairs were consistent with Dwelaniyah bleeding from his burns.
Dwelaniyah’s blood and skin were also found on a bamboo cane recovered from the house.
Mr Wright said it was agreed Robinson had no previous convictions, cautions or police reprimands.
Robinson was having an affair with a man she met on a dating site and had got pregnant using a separate sperm donor.
Her husband was away working for the RAF at the time of their son’s death, the court has heard.
Mr Justice Garnham indicated to the jury that the defence was due to give evidence on Tuesday.
The jury are likely to start deliberations on Monday after after he sums up the case later this week.
Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at webnews@metro.co.uk.
For more stories like this, check our news page.