The wickedness of a heartless grandfather who drowned his nine-year-old grandson has be met with equal sentence for the cruel act.
Stewart Greene
Stewart Greene, 65, killed Alex Robinson at his Lincoln home two days before Christmas while members of the family went food shopping.
Greene, of Danes Court, Grimoldby, Lincolnshire, had claimed Alex's death was as a result of diminished responsibility and denied murder. But he changed his plea eight days into his trial at Lincoln Crown Court and was today told he will serve at least 22 years behind bars.
The court heard Alex's mother Joanne Greene had left her son in the care of Stewart Greene while she went shopping for a turkey on December 23, last year. The youngster, who was on the autistic spectrum and didn't like having water on his face, was playing on his XBox when he was left with Greene at the house in Pennell Street.
Alex Robinson drowned by a wicked grandfather
Greene then locked the doors, ran a bath "with both taps to fill the bath even more quickly", walked his grandson into the bathroom and drowned him.
Sentencing Greene, Judge Mrs Justice Thirlwall said: "The callousness cannot be overstated. During the course of this trial, you have sought to manipulate everyone in the court room.
"You manipulate people to get what you want. This was not the product of mental illness, it was wholly your responsibility."
Outside the court, Alex's father, John Robinson, 39, said: "I'm overwhelmed. We've come a long way, it's been very hard but we have justice for our little boy.
"I'll remember Alex as my lovely little boy. I'll never forget him. For me, he's always there anyway.
"It's been very hard. It was justice for my little boy and that's all we wanted from the start."