Mother, father charged with murder in November 2025 death of 20-month-old son
A mother with a history of child abuse and a father were charged with the murder of their 20-month-old son last year in Chester, Pennsylvania, according to the Delaware County District Attorney's Office.
Murder and related charges were approved against 34-year-old Cynthia Robinson and 58-year-old Frank Walton Sr., the DA's office announced Friday.
Investigators said Robinson fatally beat her 20-month-old son and tried blaming it on one of his siblings. They said Walton Sr. knew about the child abuse and prevented medical intervention to cover it up.
"It's unconscious," Delaware County District Attorney Tanner Rouse said. "What we have is a mother who beat her son to death and a father who let it happen, who knew about it and didn't report it in an effort to cover it up. It's unimaginable, but it's very real."
Chester police were called to the defendant's home in the 900 block of Butler Street just before 11 p.m. on Nov. 5, 2025, for a report of an unresponsive child in cardiac arrest with possible head trauma, according to the affidavit of probable cause.
The boy was rushed to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, investigators said. The autopsy ruled the boy died from blunt force trauma to his head and torso, court documents show.
The accused's three other children were home at the time, according to court documents.
Robinson told police one of her other children was responsible, but an investigation found "the scenarios Ms. Robinson described, specifically her other children being responsible for the child's death, were factually impossible, according to a news release.
The DA's office said the boy was seen bleeding on the day before his death. Robinson was overheard saying, "[expletive] this little [expletive] I'm going to hit him now. I'm tired of this little [expletive] kid," and then dropped him, according to the DA's office.
"She wasn't trying to conceal this. She had made comments in the past about beating the child, she had in public view dropped her child, talked about hurting her child," Rouse said. "This was not something that was kept particularly quiet. This was not something under the darkness of night. This was out in the open. What she did was horrific."
The investigation also found Robinson was under supervision for endangering the welfare of a child for previously using drugs in the presence of her children, the DA's office said.
Court documents show Robinson was accused of striking her daughter multiple times when they lived in the 1100 block of Upland Street sometime in late 2022 or early 2023.
On Feb. 26, 2023, Chester police were called to the Upland home and found Robinson suffering from a suspected overdose, court documents show. At the time, Robinson was found next to her two children, 3 years and 2 months old, and a pipe was later found, according to court documents. Walton Sr. at the time did not identify himself to police as the children's father, court documents show. Robinson was charged and pleaded no contest to felony endangering the welfare of children in March 2023.
According to court documents, Robinson became pregnant while under supervision. The victim was born premature on Feb. 10, 2024, and tested positive for cocaine and fentanyl. He was placed in foster care by Children and Youth Services on March 4, 2024, court documents say.
Court documents say Robinson and Walton Sr. were enrolled in a transitional housing program around Jan. 17, 2025, and found a home in the 900 block of Butler Street on Feb. 7, 2025. She was seven months pregnant with her fourth child at the time.
The victim was returned to the defendants' care on May 7, 2025, and he and his three siblings were under their care, according to court documents.
"Any time you have a child who was beaten before and winds up dead, I'm deeply concerned about that. Yeah, I think everyone involved in the system needs to take a long look at and really reflect about whether or not it's going OK because this never should happen," Rouse said. "At the same time, I don't want to lay blame at anyone's feet. I'm not well-versed enough on the facts and history of it to say that somebody did something wrong, but clearly something wasn't working."
On Oct. 11, 2025, police were called to the home on Butler Street for a report of a child having a seizure, according to court documents. Chester Police Capt. William Carey saw the victim with bruised eyes and Robinson told him his sister "beats him up," court documents show.
Court documents show that on Nov. 6, the day after the victim's death, Robinson told police one of his siblings pushed him down steps around 7:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Nov. 5. She allegedly thought the victim was OK and didn't call police, court documents show. Walton Sr. yelled to her sometime later that the victim was not breathing, and then Robinson called the police, court documents say.
According to court documents, the day after the 20-month-old's death, his three siblings tested positive for cocaine. At least two of the children were found with bruises, court documents show.
Rouse said the accused's other children were intimidated by their parents and were threatened not to tell anyone about the abuse.
"They were beaten, they were intimidated by the people that are supposed to love them the most," Rouse said.
Robinson has been charged with first and third degree murder, conspiracy, four counts of endangering the welfare of children and related offenses. She's in custody and awaiting arraignment, the DA's office said.
Walton was arrested on Wednesday, April 15, and charged with third-degree murder, conspiracy and related offenses. He had bail denied and his preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 28.
The investigation remains active and ongoing, and anyone with information is asked to contact the lead detective, Brian Pot at 610-891-4700.
