UK - Arthur Labinjo Hughes, 6, killed, dad & friend arrested, June 2020

[Ironside]

Ms Milhench told the court Arthur was given a ham sandwich and made to eat it at the door while Tustin's other two children, who were with her, had a picnic in the garden.

She told the court Tustin said Arthur spat out the sandwich and that it was "rude to spit things out" so she took the sandwich away from him.

Asked whether Arthur was given a drink, Ms Milhench replied: "No."

Arthur treated cruelly as kids had picnic outside, hairdresser says



I bet he spat it out because she'd laced it with salt.

I don’t think she would load a sandwich with salt whilst in another persons home. I got the impression the hairdresser made the sandwiches, Tustin saw him eating it and just snatched it off him.

 

[Tortoise]

I don’t think she would load a sandwich with salt whilst in another persons home. I got the impression the hairdresser made the sandwiches, Tustin saw him eating it and just snatched it off him.

I think if she put salt in it she made it at home and took it with her, along with the picnic for her other two. I doubt the prosecutor would have asked if the hairdresser didn't also offer Arthur a drink if she made him a sandwich. In fact her partner did sneak him a drink of water.

 

[Ironside]

I think if she put salt in it she made it at home and took it with her, along with the picnic for her other two. I doubt the prosecutor would have asked if the hairdresser didn't also offer Arthur a drink if she made him a sandwich. In fact her partner did sneak him a drink of water.

Why would Tustin take a salty sandwich off him though? I think the hairdresser made them and Tustin didn’t want him eating nice unpoisoned food so she took it off him.

 

[Kasmeer]

I'd missed that she had other children until now (had misread it as the hairdressers' children) - well that removes the last bit of possible understanding I could've had for her attitude towards Arthur (NOT her actions, before anyone misunderstands me).

I'd wondered if some of the reasoning behind it was a downwards spiral of being unable to cope with any child and getting increasingly more resetful as things got worse and worse. It's something I'd certainly have trouble with if I ever had to look after one, as (among various other issues) I can't stand the sound of crying children, it hits my nerves to a point of fight-or-flight response, and from a mental health point of view, it'd wear me down very rapidly; I could never do what's alleged here but would be worried about snapping and doing something awful in the heat of the moment (I have long-term contraception and a hard line in my relationships of "no children", so will never be in such a situation). As a result I can look with understanding on cases where someone just snaps - the ongoing abuse means this is not one of those cases but I'd wondered if it could have roots in something initially more understandable.

However, if she has children of her own, who are not being poisoned with salt or abused (I imagine if there was any cause for concern they would have been brought into this trial), her actions are clearly solely targeted at the one that's not hers. Right, no excuses or room for understanding at all then.

 

[SpursGyal]

There doesn’t seem to be much mention of her children looking through the daily updates and not much mention of them on the cameras in the house. Along with the fact they remarked that Arthur slept on the floor while beds were empty upstairs, I don’t think she had full custody of them.

I think it’s clear from the messages she sent, the reasoning behind her behaviour.
‘I want you, but I don’t want him.’

 

[nothinonyou]

There doesn’t seem to be much mention of her children looking through the daily updates and not much mention of them on the cameras in the house. Along with the fact they remarked that Arthur slept on the floor while beds were empty upstairs, I don’t think she had full custody of them.

I think it’s clear from the messages she sent, the reasoning behind her behaviour.
‘I want you, but I don’t want him.’

Shauna Hoare and Nathan Matthews had a child in the house the whole time but going on trial updates and reports you'd never guess. Journalists are told to not mention any children still alive in any media whatsoever for fear they'd be identified.

 

[Tortoise]

"Jurors were told that other children in the house were given chocolate and gifts but none appeared to be given to Arthur.

The court heard that four days before his death Tustin ate McDonalds in front of the telly - while the youngster spent 14 hours in a hallway.

Jurors watched CCTV clips of Tustin munching through two bags of McDonald's with another child."

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes murder trial: Father threatened to gag son with a rope, court hears | Daily Mail Online

 

[Kitkat28]

What on earth did Hughes have going for him that she wanted to stay with him when she hated his child so much?? I genuinely can’t understand the mentality of people like this. They flit chaotically from one “relationship” to another so why didn’t she just leave if Arthur was such a problem to her? It’s not like she would have had an issue finding another random bloke to shack up with.

Why wasn’t Arthur on anyone’s radar? This wasn’t a sudden one-off incident. No doubt lockdown will be used as an excuse and the authorities exonerated of any blame (as usual) but his wider family had presumably been reporting this so why was nothing done?

How many more children have to die at the hands of cruel, neglectful or inadequate “parents” in this country before things are actually changed and recommendations from endless SCRs are implemented?

 

[elliefant]

Because she enjoyed abusing Arthur.

 

[Skigh]

Stepmother, 32, accused of murdering stepson, six, 'made excuses' to neighbour, court hears | Daily Mail Online


A woman accused of murdering her six-year-old stepson sounded like she was 'trying to make excuses' after his sudden collapse, a court heard.

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was allegedly killed after enduring a 'campaign of cruelty' at the hands of his father Thomas Hughes, 29, and stepmother Emma Tustin, 32.

Tustin and Hughes are said to have subjected the child to systematic abuse 'designed to terrorise' the youngster.

Arthur was allegedly deprived of food, made to stand in a hallway for 14 hours a day and poisoned with salt before being fatally attacked at his home near Solihull, West Midlands, in June last year.

Prosecutors claim the schoolboy died from 'unsurvivable brain injuries' a day after being allegedly attacked by Tustin. The boy's father and stepmother deny murder and multiple counts of child cruelty.

A jury heard evidence from a neighbour who rushed to give first aid to Arthur after he collapsed on June 16 last year.

Nurse Carol Miller told Coventry Crown Court how Tustin ran to her house to tell her: 'He's knocked himself clean out'.

Mrs Miller described herself as being 'absolutely distraught' at seeing the six-year-old unresponsive but said of Tustin: 'Not once did she ask how Arthur was.'

 

[Chessgirl]

About the salt,
I do think she gave him food laced with salt but I also think she force fed him salt by the bottle. On the footage, she was seen entering the hallway with a bottle of salt. I bet she probably forced him to eat it straight from the bottle, as well as lacing any food he was given with it. The woman was a sadist I believe. I think the father knew she liked abusing the boy but for whatever reason he stayed with her.... trying to keep her happy. Maybe the father felt like she was the best he could do for himself or something. So tragic and infuriating.

 

[Dotta]

About the salt,
I do think she gave him food laced with salt but I also think she force fed him salt by the bottle. On the footage, she was seen entering the hallway with a bottle of salt. I bet she probably forced him to eat it straight from the bottle, as well as lacing any food he was given with it. The woman was a sadist I believe. I think the father knew she liked abusing the boy but for whatever reason he stayed with her.... trying to keep her happy. Maybe the father felt like she was the best he could do for himself or something. So tragic and infuriating.

This boy was betrayed by everybody - literally everybody.
I have no mercy for whoever saw his torment and turned head away.
One starts to doubt if they are still human

 

[Chessgirl]

This boy was betrayed by everybody - literally everybody.
I have no mercy for whoever saw his torment and turned head away.
One starts to doubt if they are still human

I agree. How could the hair dresser just go about her life after seeing this? Shame on all of them. The father is a disgrace too.
On a different note, I was doing some thinking about the camera they had in the living room. They forced Arthur to sleep in the living room. I wonder if they set the camera up so they could watch Arthur and make sure he wasn’t going into the kitchen to sneak water at night? I know if I was Arthur, I would want to sneak water after they went to sleep. That would make sense why they had a camera installed.

 

[Ironside]

Poor Arthur had his teddy confiscated.

 

[Chessgirl]

Poor Arthur had his teddy confiscated.

If a child has lost his mother, then lost his grandparents, why would you take anything else from the poor youngster? That’s enough loss for one child in a short period of time. I also read the paternal grandmother found unopened birthday presents that his father never gave him. What was going on in this fathers head? Does not sound like your normal concerned parent.

 

[Skigh]

Grandmother 'reported bruises on six-year-old grandson to social services | Daily Mail Online


A grandmother reported bruises on her six-year-old grandson to social services but was never asked for the photos two months before he was murdered by his father and stepmother, a court heard today.

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, six, was allegedly killed after suffering systemic abuse which matched the 'medical definition of child torture', including being deprived of food, made to stand for 14 hours a day and poisoned with salt before being fatally attacked.

His father Thomas Hughes, 29, and stepmother Emma Tustin, 32, deny murdering Arthur at their home near Solihull, West Midlands, in June 2020. They also pleaded not guilty multiple counts of child cruelty.

Today, a trial at Coventry Crown Court today heard how Arthur's paternal grandmother, Joanne Hughes, noticed bruises on the boy's shoulders after visiting the family home in April and reported it to social services that same day - just two months before he collapsed with fatal brain injuries.

Earlier the trial heard how teachers had also expressed worries about Arthur's welfare but social services told them they had 'no concerns'.

 

[Ironside]

Very refreshing to see a mum throw her son under the bus in court (100% deserved). It really sounds as though Arthur’s family did try everything to save him from Tustin but sadly nobody listened.

I hope Tustin gets a little pink chair to sit on in her jail cell.

 

[HollyHunter9]

Each day the details get more and more difficult to read...they were abusive to him, tortured him, put him through severe mental and physical cruelty. That poor boy endured so much. I just wish someone showed him some love at some point in his life...gave him a hug. I'm sorry but if I had seen him in the state he was in...whether that be the hairdresser, neighbour or teachers there's no way I would've let him go home with those monsters. I would've taken him to safety...the dad and stepmum clearly didn't want him so I doubt they would've put up much of a fight for him. Honestly this case sickens me so much. I think it might be one of the worst I've ever come across.

 

[Dotta]

Each day the details get more and more difficult to read...they were abusive to him, tortured him, put him through severe mental and physical cruelty. That poor boy endured so much. I just wish someone showed him some love at some point in his life...gave him a hug. I'm sorry but if I had seen him in the state he was in...whether that be the hairdresser, neighbour or teachers there's no way I would've let him go home with those monsters. I would've taken him to safety...the dad and stepmum clearly didn't want him so I doubt they would've put up much of a fight for him. Honestly this case sickens me so much. I think it might be one of the worst I've ever come across.

You are reading my mind!!!

I hope they will get life sentence without parole.
Anything less will really enrage me.

 

[HollyHunter9]

You are reading my mind!!!

I hope they will get life sentence without parole.
Anything less will really enrage me.

I agree dotta! You are right when you call them 'creatures'....they don't deserve the titles of dad/stepmum. They deserve a whole life sentence and I hope prison is brutal for them!