The ad-free version is ready for purchase on iOS mobile app today we couldn't find that page";var n=e.querySelector("h2");return n&&n.remove(),{staticContent:e,title:t}},d=function(e){var t=document.createElement("button");return t.innerText=e,t.classList.add("error-page-button"),t},f=function(e){var t=document.createElement("div");t.id="recirculation-404",t.classList.add("brand-hint-bg");var n="\n \n \n Tick here if you would like us to send you the author’s response whether because of the soiling or some other reason and put him in the hot water deliberately to punish him he screamed out in pain from the moment he was immersed in the water Instead you plunged your naked three-year-old son into the scalding hot water and held him down long enough to cause the dreadful injuries we saw in the pictures It must have been obvious to you the water was extremely hot any decent parent would also check the temperature and would never have pressed him down into the water as I find you did 24 MAY 2024BookmarkDwelaniyah Robinson and Christina Robinson (inset) and police at the scene in Ushaw Moor (main image)A sadistic North-east mum is has been jailed for life for murdering her three-year-old son The 30-year-old, of Bracken Court, Ushaw Moor, County Durham, was found guilty of murder and four child cruelty offences by jurors at Newcastle Crown Court in March and will be jailed for life We will bring you live updates from the case as she learns the minimum term she must serve behind bars Teesside Live is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our community we'll send you the latest breaking news exclusives and much more straight to your phone To join our community group, you need to already have WhatsApp. All you need to do is click this link and select 'Join Community' No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the Teesside Live team We also treat our community members to special offers To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'Exit group' If you’re curious, you can read our Privacy Notice Click here to join our WhatsApp community The case is now finished and that concludes our live coverage The judge said he took a 15 year starting point and increased it due to factors including the abuse of trust and the fact it was committed in the presence of another child The judge said against that background of cruelty Robinson murdered her son on November 5 by shaking him He said while he cannot be sure she intended to kill him The judge added: “Your behaviour towards your son was appalling in the highest degree.” He said the “callousness” of her behaviour was shown in text messages to her boyfriend after the burns were inflicted when she discovered he had vomited after getting access to some of her tablets She told her boyfriend Dwelaniyah’s behaviour deserved a “major ass kicking” When the boyfriend told her he is a child and that she should just tell him not to do it again she replied: “He is old enough to know better so he will pay.” she said: “He will get what he deserves The judge said Robinson was following religious teachings at the time which led her to think it was appropriate to punish Dwelaniyah for trivial matters by hitting him with a bamboo cane He said: “Those injuries were deliberately inflicted at a time when Dwelaniyah was already seriously injured from the burns I’ve described “What must have gone through the mind of that little boy being beaten by a cane by his mother despite those terrible burns The judge said the burns would have been “intensely painful” He added that Robinson did not seek proper medical help because she was more worried about the consequences of reporting it She instead bought medical supplies online which were “wholly inadequate” the judge says that on October 19 2022 Robinson discovered Dwelaniyah The judge said Robinson ran a bath of extremely hot water and did not add any cold water as she knew she needed do for the water to be a suitable temperature to wash in Robinson is jailed for life and is told she must serve a minimum of 25 years before she has any chance of parole Robinson is asked to make submissions on her own behalf She continues to deny the offences and says: “I pray for the day when justice is served” She added: “I didn’t kill my child in any way said “there was no intention to kill He added that she has no previous convictions and that what she did was out of character Mr Wright says there is no victim impact statement from Dwelaniyah’s father He was asked if he wanted to provide one but declined is arguing that while it is not submitted that Robinson should receive a whole life term it should be a 30 year starting point for her life sentence Mr Wright submits the murder can be categorised as “sadistic” in that she submitted him to “ritual and persistent beatings with weapons including cane and immersed him in scalding water The judge points out to find there was sadism he would have to be sure she derived pleasure from inflicting pain Mr Wright says there is a second route to a 30 year starting point which is that it was a “murder of particularly high seriousness” The judge says the other option is a 15 year starting point potentially aggravated and increased by the facts of the case The case has started at Newcastle Crown Court There was a bit of derelict land owned jointly by Durham county council and the Roman Catholic diocese of Hexham and Newcastle and they allowed us to have it on a long-term basis We received money from the Big Lottery Fund's Community Spaces to clear the land and open the garden Two local primary schools – Silver Tree and St Joseph's – come to the garden and do work in the raised beds Police from Durham Constabulary also do one session a week in the garden: they run a successful scheme called Hagrid through which they work with children who are seen as being at high risk of getting involved in crime They won a Royal Horticultural Award for their work the kids on the Hagrid project were digging up potatoes and they were quite surprised – I think they thought they came out of plastic bags We're in the process of starting a Men's Sheds scheme (which originated in Australia and New Zealand) to give men the opportunity to get together and have a chat because we're not very good at talking about our emotions and all that I think the best bit is that it got rid of derelict land We're a former mining village – there was nothing here 150 years ago There's this attitude that the glass is always half empty We're trying to change people's attitudes and lift them up a bit Ushaw Moor Community Garden is an initiative by Ushaw Moor Action Group and is a member of the Federation of City Farms and Community Gardens: for more information and to find your nearest community garden look here If you would like to tell us about your community garden send an email to livebetterchallenge@theguardian.com Interested in finding out more about how you can live better? Take a look at this month's Live Better challenge here The Live Better Challenge is funded by Unilever; its focus is sustainable living. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled advertisement feature. Find out more here. Action will be outlined to Durham County Council’s Cabinet to secure a positive future for Durham Community Business College (DCBC) The plans would see the school join an established multi-academy trust with the council contributing to plans by writing off the school’s current budget deficit the Advance Learning Partnership (ALP) has provisionally expressed interest in taking on DCBC To enable the transfer to happen the council needs to write off the budget deficit so that the transition to ALP is financially viable The council has a strong and effective working relationship with ALP and has worked successfully with the organisation on other academy projects in the past The Department for Education (DfE) is supportive of the proposals identifying the need to preserve pupil places within the central planning area The DfE has committed to providing additional financial support to enable the transfer to ALP This national investment in the infrastructure and also to meet short-term financial challenges is welcome and will benefit education of children in the area the council’s Cabinet member for children and young people’s services said: “There is currently high demand for pupil places in this area of the county with four of the five secondary schools in the planning area oversubscribed It is therefore essential that we help to secure the future of DCBC as an important part of the county’s education offer “The only sustainable way to improve educational standards and secure future growth in pupil numbers at DCBC is for us to broker sponsorship with a multi-academy trust “We have worked effectively with ALP over previous conversions at both Wolsingham and Bishop Barrington schools If the council chooses to write-off the current deficit the academisation of DCBC will take place from 1 January 2023 This is provided all due diligence activities are successful and the current deficit situation is addressed Cabinet meets at County Hall in Durham at 9.30am on Wednesday 14 September. The meeting can be viewed at www.youtube.com/user/DurhamCouncil Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Tell Your Story Advertise in Print Advertise Online admitted beating boy with a cane but denied causing fatal brain injury A woman who subjected her three-year-old son to a campaign of “sadistic cruelty” and punishment for petty wrongs has been found guilty of his murder had admitted beating her son with a cane for playing with his food saying she was following the teachings of the Bible shaking him and causing a fatal brain injury She also denied deliberately immersing him in scalding hot water after he soiled himself agonising burns that she failed to get medical treatment for A jury at Newcastle crown court on Thursday found her guilty of murder and four child cruelty charges Robinson was on trial for murdering Dwelaniyah at the family home in Ushaw Moor The trial heard that the cruelty and murder took place while her husband said Dwelaniyah had been subjected to “sadistic cruelty” by his mother “He was subjected to a campaign of violence and cruelty by his mother for petty wrongs,” Wright said Dwelaniyah Robinson was the victim of a series of assaults. Photograph: Durham police/PAIt escalated in the weeks leading up to his death, he said. “The violence was ramped up until he could stand it no more and he died.” Robinson admitted using a garden bamboo cane to beat Dwelaniyah because he was messing about with his food. She was a follower of the Black Hebrew Israelites movement, she said, and had been watching a YouTube video that quoted scripture promoting the rod for correction. Giving evidence, Robinson said she was a “complete beginner” and now realised she was misguided. The jury found Robinson did cause a fatal brain injury to her son on 5 November 2022 while she was the only adult in the house. It was more than 20 minutes before she dialled 999, first speaking to her husband on the phone despite him being with the RAF 240 miles away, and then using Google to look at how to resuscitate a child. 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 he could not be saved and probably died at the house, although further attempts to resuscitate him were made in hospital. A postmortem revealed he had been the victim of a series of assaults and sustained a number of non-accidental injuries. Robinson grew up in Tamworth, Staffordshire, before her family relocated to Bulgaria when she was 16 because her mother wanted to be mortgage-free. She returned to the UK aged 23 and moved to north-east England to bring up a family with her husband. Robinson said her husband did not want more children. She told the court that she wanted to have a large family with “double figure” children. The trial heard Robinson was using a sperm donor to try to conceive and, in October 2022, had also made contact with a man 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. She originally told police that Dwelaniyah suffered his burns by messing about in the shower. After giving her evidence Robinson dispensed with her defence lawyers. Mr Justice Garnham will pass sentence on 24 May, giving time to the defendant to seek legal representation after she parted with her team. He thanked the jury, some of whom were visibly upset, for their “obvious care and attention”, and excused them from further service for 20 years. The judge said: “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.” Credit: North East Ambulance Service An investigation is underway after a three-year-old boy died in a "medical incident" in County Durham Emergency services were called to a property in Ushaw Moor Paramedics from North East Ambulance Service attended but the boy later died in hospital A multi-agency investigation is now underway into the circumstances surrounding the death A spokesman for Durham Police said: “On Saturday, Durham Constabulary supported the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) in attending a medical incident in Ushaw Moor. The incident involved a three-year-old boy, who sadly died later. “We are involved in a multi-agency investigation into the circumstances surrounding the death of the child and the public will notice an increased police presence in the area over the coming days while enquiries are conducted." A NEAS spokesperson said: "We were called to a private address in Ushaw Moor, County Durham at 16:10pm on Saturday 5 November. We sent one clinical team leader, one specialist paramedic and two emergency ambulances. We requested support from Great North Air Ambulance (GNAAS)." A spokeswoman for GNAAS said: "Our critical care team were activated at 4:16pm to reports of a medical incident in Ushaw Moor. They arrived on scene at 4:31pm and two of our doctors and a paramedic worked alongside the North East Ambulance Service (NEAS) to assess and treat a patient. “The patient was taken to hospital by a NEAS road crew, accompanied by our team." Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To know...  denies murdering her son Dwelaniyah Robinson Credit: Durham PoliceThe jury has been sent out to consider verdicts in the trial of a mother accused of murdering her three-year-old son Christina Robinson denies murdering her son Dwelaniyah at the family home in Bracken Court by violently shaking him and causing a fatal brain injury in November 2022 The 30-year-old also denies four child cruelty offences which are said to have happened in the weeks leading up to his death During the three-week trial at Newcastle Crown Court the prosecution has claimed Robinson deliberately scalded the little boy as a punishment slapped him and beat him with a bamboo cane that she did not seek medical attention for his burns and that she neglected him by leaving him alone at home Robinson, who is now representing herself after parting with her legal team told the jury in her closing speech earlier on Tuesday 19 March: “Please do not find me guilty for something I have not done.” She questioned the expert evidence about how her son died claiming there was uncertainty about what happened to him and pointed out he was “clumsy” and would bump into things Robinson, originally from Tamworth, Staffordshire, denied the claim that her son was an “inconvenience”, pointing out that she always wanted a large family. She did accept that she used the cane on Dwelaniyah “My reasons behind it was simply that I believed I was doing the right thing it is in the Bible,” the follower of the Black Hebrew Israelites religion said She said Dwelaniyah was burned accidentally while she washed him in the shower and that she did not seek medical attention for him because she was ashamed Mr Justice Garnham sent the jury out to start their deliberations and said they were under no pressure of time to return a verdict Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know..