[8] Twelve minutes later, after phoning Thomas Hughes, Tustin called 999 and told medics that he "fell and banged his head and while on the floor banged his head another five times". At one point he said: "The thing is how can I plead not guilty? Arguably the most heart-breaking clip to watch was Arthur being so weak on the morning of his collapse that he barely had the strength to carry his bedding out of the living room, where he had been forced to sleep. Prosecutors said despite having her phone, she took 12 minutes to call 999, telling medics Arthur "fell and banged his head and while on the floor banged his head another five times". 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A Home Office pathologist concluded the pattern of many injuries suggested they were inflicted and none-accidental. Hughes claimed he was 'gaslighted' and 'mentally abused' by Tustin who he said was 'constantly' over his shoulder telling him to 'whack' Arthur and instructing how to discipline him. In a three-minute phone call, Hughes pretended they spoke about balloons for a birthday party but more likely, prosecutors suggest, he acted as he routinely did when Tustin reported Arthur's behaviour to him: in a rage, with threats, and encouraging violence. Mr Hankin branded her a 'pitiless, cruel woman' who 'hated' Arthur. The proceedings exceeded two months and were even halted by a fire alarm and Covid-19 alert along the way. All the while, Arthur was cut off from those who loved him and could help him. His father Thomas Hughes and partner Emma Tustin deny the boy's murder and multiple counts of child cruelty. Hughes's following comment to officers proved to be telling: "Emma isn't a suspect, she's a witness. This year's appeal is bigger and better than ever - because we have teamed up with our partners at #Toys4Birmingham, including Thrive Together Birmingham, the Birmingham Playcare Network, the Edgbaston Foundation and Birmingham Forward Steps. He suffered a cardiac arrest, but medics got his heart beating and rushed him to Birmingham Children's Hospital. No-one else. Mr Hankin said emergency services were called to reports Arthur had "sustained a self-inflicted head injury at his stepmother's home address", with paramedics noting a "large bruise" on his forehead. The jury were told how Arthur was made to stand in isolation for up to 14 hours a day, was frequently assaulted, deprived of food and water as well as poisoned with salt. Hughes claimed he was 'gaslighted' and 'mentally abused' by Tustin who he said was 'constantly' over his shoulder telling him to 'whack' Arthur and instructing how to discipline him. Hughes allegedly spoke of putting him up for adoption. Hughes was described as weak by the senior investigating officer, Det Insp Laura Harrison. From prison, Arthur's mother said the memory of her young son she would treasure the most was his smile. The monster even had the gall to claim the boy was making her life 'hell'. Arthur died in hospital in the early hours of the following day. They were among the key pieces of evidence which helped a jury convict a sadistic dad and step-mother of killing little Arthur Labinjo-Hughes. The camera in the living room captured Arthur slumped on the floor. She made multiple references to him 'winning'. The court also heard Tustin wanted the CCTV. Arthur was "segregated and isolated" for "up to 14 hours a day", the court was told, often made to stay on the step next to the hallway by the front door, and prevented from having food and drink. You were in this movie. Arthur was conspicuous by his absence on the camera for long periods despite the fact both defendants would often be in the living room talking, gesticulating or shouting towards the hallway. In one message she said 'f****** launch this lying little f***' and in another she warned she was 'going to chin this little c***'. She made multiple references to him 'winning'. READ MORE: Live updates as 'evil' stepmum and dad found guilty of murder of Arthur. There was also an incident during a School Nativity play where Arthur became upset when a baby doll was removed from its crib. [8] At the time of his death, a medical review found that he was covered in 130 bruises, that he had been poisoned with salt, and that the extent of his injuries were compared to torture. The social worker concluded that Arthur was 'very happy and very safe' and that there were no safeguarding issues in the household. By Riyah Collins. He lived with his mother, Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow, after she and Hughes split not long before his second birthday. She is pregnant with my child. For police investigating the case, nothing short of evil suffices to describe Tustin. So distressing were the clips that Judge Mark Wall dissuaded the prosecution from playing all of them. When I tried to get him off the floor, he headbutted me and hes hit me and kicked me, she said. Read about our approach to external linking. He told the jury he 'reluctantly' maintained Arthur's punishment to avoid arguments admitting he put Tustin's 'love and attention' above his son's welfare. He wanted Tustin, her children and their unborn baby, and not Arthur. Guardian Australia acknowledges the traditional owners and custodians of Country throughout Australia and their connections to land, waters and community. The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. In the witness box told the jury he was simply covering for Tustin, who he now 'hated' and saw in a 'completely different light'. Toledo, Ohio Area. March 2020: Hughes took Arthur to Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services practitioner, Kerry Forsyth-Benson, who reported the boy saying he was worried about his dad not returning. Follow BBC West Midlands on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. There were between 100 to 130 marks in total including 30 to his head and neck. February 2019: Arthurs biological mother, Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow, 29, is arrested for stabbing and killing her partner, Gary Cunningham. [14] Arthur's favourite team, Birmingham City F.C, named a children's area in its stadium after him and supporters sung his name on a march through Birmingham prior to a match. Ms Kavanagh repeated she had 'no safeguarding concerns' about Arthur. Thursday 2 December 2021 17:54, UK Arthur Labinjo-Hughes died in hospital several hours after he was found unresponsive at a house on Cranmore Road in Shirley, near Birmingham 'Bullying' parents 'poisoned' their six-year-old son. Hughes was found guilty of child cruelty counts 2 (standing in isolation) and 3 (assaults). Ms Kavanagh insisted she only saw a single 'faint' bruise on Arthur's back and not the marks visible in the picture taken just 26 hours earlier, despite an expert saying they would not have faded by then. Tustin would record more than 200 clips of him in distress, including two particularly harrowing recordings where Arthur is heard begging in tears, "I want you to feed me, no one's going to feed me" and crying "no one loves me". Ironically, all it did was serve to incriminate her and Hughes further. Hughes confessed to treating Arthur 'like a prisoner' by making him stay in the hallway for the 'majority of the time', adding his discipline had 'gone horribly wrong'. I can't account for it. Not long after he weakly put away his bedding on 16 June, Tustin took Arthur to her appointment at Ms Milhench's home. The pair also face an allegation of child cruelty by administering salt to Arthur between 1 and 17 June last year. Six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes Harrowing CCTV footage, a slew of terrorising text messages and inconsistent displays of remorse are just some of the key pieces of evidence which helped a jury to successfully convict a twisted step-mother and callous dad of killing his little boy. The trial took a number of twists and turns as the prosecution detailed how Arthur was made to stand in isolation for up to 14 hours a day, was assaulted, deprived of food and water as well as poisoned with salt. Anne Longfield, the former children's commissioner for England, said:[18], "a lot of the services went on to the screens for children, and this child in particular, Arthur, wasnt in school. She feigned contrition repeatedly describing her treatment to Arthur as 'absolutely disgraceful' and purporting she was 'disgusted in myself'. Tustin and Hughes. Teachers reported Arthur was becoming fixated with his dad disappearing from his life, or killing him, and had also become obsessed with death, murder and guns. Here is the timeline of events leading up to his death. He had been confined to the house as a 'punishment' for most of the first national lockdown while the Covid-19 pandemic swept through the country, reports BirminghamLive. [8], In May 2020, Arthur was frequently made to stand in the hallway for long periods of time as a punishment for his alleged misbehaviour. Hughes told police he 'turned into a monster' during lockdown and that 'Arthur took the brunt of my frustrations unfairly'. They all agreed that the most likely mechanism that caused the injuries was a shaking-type motion with one or more impacts. She said children were "the hidden victims of this pandemic" and that the charity had seen an increase of 23% in calls from adults concerned about a child's welfare. I don't want Emma to suffer.". Is climate change killing Australian wine? Tustin could be heard 'policing' Arthur in some of the clips barking 'stand still, stand still'. [20][21], In July 2021, Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow was convicted of the manslaughter of her partner, and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. But the evidence undermined the act. Another unusual feature was the fact Tustin obsessively recorded more than 200 voice notes of Arthur during lockdown. By contrast, Hughes was emotionless in the witness box. Tustin sent these recordings to Hughes who would respond with violent threats, encouraging his partner to harm his son. He would stand there alone while his father enjoyed chocolates and other treats in the kitchen with Tustin and her own children. 8 June 2020: Arthurs school reopened but Hughes did not send his son back, initially claiming the boy hadnt slept well and would return the next day. Tustin and Hughes manipulated visitors, told them his bruises were down to play. Text messages between Tustin and Hughes told the story of their fracturing relationship and exposed their violent intent towards Arthur. For three months, his life was dictated by a cruel punishment regime enforced by Emma Tustin and Thomas Hughes. While alone, Arthur would often cry to himself. Family Arthur was killed in June 2020 The father of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes has had his manslaughter sentence for the boy's death increased. They uncovered significant evidence of abuse inflicted on Arthur by both. Dr Coulthard concluded Arthur was salt poisoned stating it could have occurred incrementally but that he would have had to have been given a large dose of the kitchen condiment in the hours immediately before he collapsed. Arthur died in Solihull in June 2020. You did this to him.". Opening the case on Thursday, Mr Hankin said: "His clothes looked dirty, his lips cracked, he could barely open his mouth to speak, his hair was dirty, his nails were dirty and he looked malnourished, gaunt and worn-out.". Eventually, she would call an ambulance but it was too late, and Arthur died in hospital shortly after 01:00 the following morning. She was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 11 years in prison. "I effectively killed my son. ", Statistics for England suggested that there had been a 20% decrease in referrals to local authorities' children's departments but a 20% increase in reported cases of child harm and a 19% increase in child deaths. His tiny body bore more than 130 bruises. November 2019: Hughes and his mother, Joanne, met staff at Arthurs school to discuss their growing concerns about his behaviour. Tustin bombarded Hughes with messages complaining of the child's behaviour as his condition worsened. If you have been affected by the issues raised in this article, help and support is available via BBC Action Line. Hughes took Tustin's children to the supermarket, leaving his own son in mortal danger. Read more. The vast majority of the recordings were of Arthur crying. Tustin was equally vile. She concluded there were no safeguarding concerns and no need to refer the case for a full child service assessment. I didn't want to lose another child and the only way I could protect that child was to try and protect Emma from it all and take the blame for myself.". The six-year-old collapsed from catastrophic head injuries in the hallway of a home in Cranmore Road, Shirley where he had been confined as a 'punishment' for most of the first national lockdown. Like the CCTV, she claimed the purpose of the voice notes was to 'cover my own back'. She claimed it was in fact Arthur who was the aggressor in the house, that he had treated the couple badly, causing them "daily stress". Hughes claimed he only found out Tustin aborted their baby in custody when she said so herself in the witness box a few days earlier. Arthur Labinjo-Hughes: father and partner found guilty of killing son, six. The day before Arthur died he joked about paying someone to 'dig Arthur's grave'. I don't want Emma to suffer.". Arthur never went back to school before his death. The truth was he had made his choice. When the UK went into lockdown in March 2020, the new couple made the decision to merge their families at Tustin's home on Cranmore Road in Solihull, where she lived with her own children, aged four and five. Tustin pleaded guilty to child cruelty counts 2 and 3. The child was secretly given a drink of water by the hairdresser's partner, who later described him as "gaunt", "malnourished" and "a poor little kid who was broken". Arthur spent 35 hours of the three-day period between 12 and 14 June in the hallway having been forced to go there by his father and step-mother. It's thought as soon as they were alone in the house, Tustin forced him to drink a salt slurry in the upstairs bathroom. How much did lockdown help Arthur Labinjo-Hughes killers escape notice? My mum, my dad. Hughes later told Tustin he had 'basically held my hands up'. 17 April 2020: Social worker Jayne Kavanagh from Solihull council visited Tustins home. Barely able to stand, he folded away his bedding in the living room where his father and new stepmother had been making him sleep on the floor, all the while monitored by CCTV set up to catch him "misbehaving". The Attorney General's office said on 4 December that the sentences would be reviewed to "determine whether they were too low" under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. [8] Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of all schools in the UK and a national lockdown by the end of March 2020. The monster even had the gall to claim the boy was making her life 'hell'. Tustin had bizarrely claimed she had a spare camera left over from putting up CCTV outside due to 'problems with neighbours coming into the garden and putting holes in her clothes'. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. The vast majority of the recordings were of Arthur crying. Her partner, Tobias Jarman, snuck the boy a glass of water without Tustin and Hughes knowing, and said he looked petrified. New patients are welcome. He told the jury he 'reluctantly' maintained Arthur's punishment to avoid arguments admitting he put Tustin's 'love and attention' above his son's welfare. He died on 17 June 2020. he horrific case of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes is raising serious questions about how his abuse went undetected for so long, whether authorities failed in their duty to protect him and how lockdown may have prevented them from doing so. Arthur was conspicuous by his absence on the camera for long periods despite the fact both defendants would often be in the living room talking, gesticulating or shouting towards the hallway. ", "The chilling parallels between the murders of Star Hobson and Arthur Labinjo-Hughes", "Star Hobson and Arthur Labinjo-Hughes: why were chances to intervene missed? I was not there. She explained she was told Arthur had a playfight with Tustin's son which resulted in both being hurt. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. [26][27][28] Mister Justice Mark Wall, the presiding judge, described the case in his sentencing remarks as among the most "distressing and disturbing" cases that he has dealt with. Furious inmates 'toss salt at killer stepmum' who tortured Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, Jaws of a giant killer creature found on Yorkshire beach, The trial took a number of twists and turns as the prosecution, Heartbroken family of Yorkshire mum who died after freak incident with a goose still searching for answers, Nativity's Jason Watkins and other cast members now - from tragic death of daughter to Call the Midwife and the West End stage. Hughes was seemingly unmoved by the sound of his boy crying over and over again. The proceedings exceeded two months and were even halted by a fire alarm and Covid-19 alert along the way. I haven't got a leg to stand on. In reply Judge Wall said the police interviews were only part of the evidence they were to hear. Read about our approach to external linking. ", "How lockdown was beginning of the end for tragic Arthur - timeline", "Coronavirus: UK schools, colleges and nurseries to close from Friday", "Coronavirus: Strict new curbs on life in UK announced by PM", "UK launches major review into murder of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes", "Arthur Labinjo-Hughes: Father and girlfriend found guilty over death of six-year-old boy", "Stepmother and father convicted of killing Arthur Labinjo-Hughes", "Arthur Labinjo-Hughes: Candlelit vigil for murdered boy", "Arthur Labinjo-Hughes: Football club's tribute to young fan", "Arthur Labinjo-Hughes: Football pays tribute to murdered Birmingham City fan after killers jailed", "Social workers forced out of homes due to abuse after Arthur Labinjo-Hughes case", "Arthur Labinjo-Hughes: vulnerable children 'slipped from view' in pandemic", "How much did lockdown help Arthur Labinjo-Hughes' killers escape notice? The jury was told medical evidence revealed the boy died from "head trauma inflicted on him by an adult" and the most likely cause was that he had been "vigorously shaken and his head banged repeatedly against a hard surface". [24] Thomas Hughes was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 21 years. Someone supposedly 'stuck in the middle' of a bad situation, but ultimately with Arthur's best interests in mind. Both defendants subsequently accepted they 'assaulted' the boy, contrary to their previous pleas. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? We have used the asterisk no less than 600 times during our live coverage of the case. It was made plain to her that the consensus medical opinion was that Arthur could not have caused his fatal head injuries himself, and yet still she blamed him for his own death. The authorities found no cause for concern. The camera also picked up isolated incidents of bullying Hughes and cruel Tustin slapping Arthur round the back of the head and holding him by the scruff of the neck. An official at Arthur's school noted that the child became less happy as autumn progressed. She said when asked how safe and happy they felt on a scale of 0-10, with zero being represented by the floor and the ceiling being the opposite, both boys very confidently jumped up and pointed at the ceiling saying they felt very happy and very safe. He added: "Over the course of 17 months a lot has been put to me I was not previously aware of regarding Emma and it has made me see Emma in a completely different light. Tustin also laid her cards on the table to Hughes over text and said: "I want you but not him.". Did this woman die because her genitals were cut? This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. His father Thomas Hughes, 29, and his former partner Emma Tustin, 32, are. She described his appearance as skeletal and said his legs were shaking like he couldnt hold himself up. His. A man accused of murdering his son said he "probably" valued his partner's love and affection over his child's welfare. I don't want them to suffer. She refuted the allegation. Mr Hankin said the evidence indicated Arthur was isolated and "physically and verbally abused", while access to food and drink were "controlled or restricted". Shortly after 13:00 that day, the family was back home. Scheduling: (513) 612-1111 He tried to seduce Tustin to have sex while Arthur was in the hallway, and in one text he told her to 'put him outside or wherever, give him away, put him out with the rubbish'. Arthur Labinjo-Hughes (4 January 2014 - 17 June 2020) was a six-year-old child living in the West Midlands, England who was abused and subsequently killed by his carers during the COVID-19 pandemic. She doesn't need it.". The couple used insults such as "Satan", "Hitler", "Devilchild", "weasel" and various swear words to refer to the boy. But her words did not wash with prosecutor Jonas Hankin who completely skewered her during cross-examination. [17] The incident provoked discussion of the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the welfare of vulnerable children.

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