A mum who let a 'devil' dad kill their baby boy also used to hit their two-year-old daughter with a wooden spoon.
Gabriela Ion's silence allowed Mihai-Catalin Gulie's violent attacks on six-month-old Robert Ion to continue until he murdered their child.
Gulie violently shook defenceless Robert, who had Down's Syndrome, inflicting a broken skull and an irreversible brain injury.
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Ion, 35, was convicted of allowing her son's death, after the lies she told doctors and the police to protect her husband came crashing down.
Her barrister argued that, despite her failure to report Gulie, she should avoid jail so she could care for their daughter.
But a court then heard the mum also played an active role in the "climate of aggression" the children were raised in at their Widnes home.
John Benson, QC, defending Ion, said she was "very fearful" about losing the "good relationship" she had with her daughter.
He said she was greatly distressed by "the separation from her daughter, about whom no one can say there was any ill treatment".
However, High Court judge Mrs Justice Amanda Yip replied: "Well I'm concerned about one aspect of the evidence, that was the use of a wooden spoon.
"She was a little young child. Miss Ion had a wooden spoon she used to punish her."
Mr Benson said: "Yes, she did. I don't believe there was any suggestion there were any injuries, and the frequency of that, from the witness, I think it was intermittent. There was a wooden spoon, it shouldn't have been used."
This abuse was revealed when Gulie was jailed for life with a minimum of 20 years at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday.
Justice Yip said evidence from a next door neighbour revealed the couple's children were living "in a climate of aggression" and were frequently heard crying, against a backdrop of raised adult voices.
The judge told the couple: "Although your daughter was generally well cared for, both of you had assaulted her on occasion.
"Miss Ion, you admitted to having a wooden spoon to hit her with when, in your words, she was cheeky.
"She was only two-years-old and the misdemeanours for which you thought it appropriate to punish her in this way included being reluctant to have her nappy changed."
Robert suffered his fatal injuries on February 18 this year, when left alone with his dad after Ion nipped out to a shop with her daughter to buy sweets.
Ion had previously seen Gulie grab Robert by the chest and forcefully shake him, "then slam him into his crib", on around February 7.
Afterwards, when she carried her crying son upstairs - who had suffered two broken ribs and a brain injury - she knew he was significantly hurt.
But instead of seeing medical help, she researched online how to mask little Robert's bruises with toothpaste and an onion.
He was taken to hospital after the fatal attack, where doctors discovered evidence of the previous serious assault.
Robert died three days later, before his parents' prison phone calls and Ion's Google searches revealed the truth of what went on in their Mersey Road home.
During a harrowing 14-day trial, when the lying mum and dad denied any wrongdoing, Ion said she had lived in fear of her convicted woman beater husband.
Along with the February 7 attack, she also described a previous time she saw Gulie pick Robert out of his pram and throw him onto a sofa.
Gulie claimed when this happened it was "as if the devil possessed me".
Justice Yip said Gulie was the "primary aggressor" in the home, but Ion - who moved to the UK with him from Romania - regularly raised her voice in return.
She said after Ion had finally stopped covering for him, the mum had told the jury there was only one time Gulie had been physically violent to her.
This the mum said was "forcefully pushing" her after he came home from work and his tea wasn't ready, which Justice Yip said was a "relatively minor incident".
The judge said: "I consider that you overstated the fear you were in, although I would readily accept there were times when Mr Gulie was very unpleasant to you."
Justice Yip said "poor Robert undoubtedly suffered pain in the last days of his life" and Ion - who showed no emotion in the dock during the sentencing - could have saved him.
She said if Ion had sought treatment after the February 7 attack, or told her family - who loved the "precious" little boy - then "his fractured ribs would have been discovered and Robert would have been alive today".
The judge told Ion: "That is something you must live with for the rest of your life."
Justice Yip took into account Ion's previous good character and said she "presented as somewhat lacking in sophistication and maturity".
The judge said: "I accept that your childhood was not easy and note that your mother died when you were only six-years-old. That may have played some part in your development."
Justice Yip said unlike her unrepentant husband, Ion did show remorse that she hadn't done more for Robert, "something that will remain with you forever".
She added: "I saw your reaction when you watched the video evidence featuring your daughter and I do not doubt the pain your separation from her has caused. I am very conscious of the impact upon her."
The judge said: "While it seems unlikely that she will be returned to your full-time care within the foreseeable future, I understand your wish to re-establish a relationship with her, if that is to be permitted.
"I acknowledge that if work is to be done towards that end, the sooner you are released, the sooner that can start."
Justice Yip said Ion's crime was too serious to spare her jail, but her mitigation did reduce her sentence.
She added: "In determining the length of your sentence, I have your daughter's position firmly in mind."
The judge handed Ion three years in prison, of which she has to serve half - 18 months - behind bars, before she is released on licence.
However, because Ion has already spent 274 days - nearly nine months - on remand in custody, she only has around nine months left in jail.
Anyone concerned about a child can contact the NSPCC Helpline on 0808 800 5000, while young people can call Childline on 0800 1111. If a child is in immediate danger, always call 999.
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