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

[Carroll520]

Do we know when Arthur went into TH care? I’m wondering how long TH had full time parenting responsibility before ET was on the scene.

I think he had full time responsibilty from Feb 2019, when OH killed her partner

 

[Tinksx]

Do we know when Arthur went into TH care? I’m wondering how long TH had full time parenting responsibility before ET was on the scene.

Arthur had been in the full-time care of Hughes after Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow was accused of killing her new partner, Gary Cunningham, in February 2019.

Thomas Hughes told police how he 'cut up' son Arthur's beloved Birmingham FC shirt in front of him | Daily Mail Online

 

[Tortoise]

16:19CARL JACKSON
Tustin's barrister begins re-examination
Tustin's barrister Mary Prior begins re-examination.

She takes the defendant to various topics and different parts of her evidence one after the other.

Tustin accepts she used 'unpleasant' names to refer to Arthur, but denies she called him a c*** or Satan to his face.

Ms Prior then asks her about a former cellmate. Tustin states the cellmate had once given her advice about her solicitors.

She tells the court they ended up in different cells because 'she assaulted me, robbed my underwear and bits of food while I was asleep'.

Ms Prior moves on to the journeys to and from the Magistrates' court but there has to be a short break before the trial can continue.


16:22JAYNE THOMSON
'Highlights' of recorded conversation between Tustin and Hughes in the van on the way to Magistrates' court played to court
The proceedings resume.

Ms Prior tells the jury they are going to be played 'highlights' of a covertly recorded conversation between Tustin and Hughes in the van on the way to Magistrates' court.

The recording is a little muffled but some exchanges can be made out.

Tustin: "How you feeling over Arthur?"

Hughes: "I don't think it's like set in yet."

Tustin: "I just feel completely lost."


16:30CARL JACKSON
Recorded conversations played to court
Tustin can be heard asking Hughes what he had told police about Arthur's bruises.

Hughes: "Basically I had done it. Said you will find DNA on him. Some fingerprints on him."

After a few moments Tustin asks: "Have you told them I never hurt him?"

Hughes: "Yeah. I said they will find messages on my phone where I said 'just whack him', she always refused because it's not her place."

Tustin asked if Hughes told officers about Arthur 'cracking' his head on Monday. She adds: "You need to tell them because that was the start of it I think."

Tustin later asked Hughes if Arthur's biological mother - Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow - had been informed

Hughes: "She's been notified. When he was on life support she tried getting a visiting order. By the time she would have got there he had passed away."

Hughes then says: "The thing is how can I plead not guilty? I haven't got a leg to stand on."


Woman 'doing her eyebrows' at time she's accused of poisoning boy - updates

 

[Tortoise]

After a few moments Tustin asks: "Have you told them I never hurt him?"

It's a bit late for that now MS Prior!!

Count three relates to the wilful assault of Arthur.

Mr Hankin: "You assaulted him again didn't you.?"
Tustin: "I did yes."
Mr Hankin: "Do you want to plead guilty to the count of assault?"
Tustin: "I do yes."

 

[Tortoise]

Mr Hankin asked: 'This interview was three days after the event, that you are describing a very memorable event and you are emphasising the crack (you heard).

'Then you go to pick him up - and it is when you are with him, he loses consciousness.

'That is wholly at odds with what you are now saying to the jury. Why?' [...]


Mr Hankin asked her: 'You've changed your account haven't you?'

Tustin replied: 'Yes - because after I reviewed CCTV it showed I was not on the sofa and drinking my pop - that was the last thing I remembered.'

Mr Hankin took Tustin to her police interview transcript - the contents of which are agreed by Tustin's own defence team - and asked her: 'We've just read it.'

Tustin replied: 'Yes, I know that you've read it but that is not what I said.'

At that point, Mr Justice Mark Wall QC interjected and asked Tustin: 'I just want to be clear that I've understood this.

'You're saying the record of interview, that everybody has agreed, is inaccurate?'

'Yes,' she replied.

Stepmother accused of murdering six-year-old boy denies poisoning him with salt | Daily Mail Online

 

[Tortoise]

17:11CARL JACKSON
Trial adjourns until Tuesday morning

At one point Hughes is heard saying: "You hate me now don't you?"

At a later stage he said: "I am sorry."

Tustin's responses are inaudible. She is then heard leaving the van. An officer said 'Two minutes for you Thomas'.

Hughes replied asking to speak to an inspector.

Hughes then said: "I didn't do any of this on purpose. The reason I'm in here. I didn't do it on purpose. I just tried disciplining him, my son.

"I know you don't need to hear it. If you look at the paperwork and you see that one word and it's horrible."

The trial is adjourned until tomorrow morning.

Woman 'doing her eyebrows' at time she's accused of poisoning boy - updates

 

[Carroll520]

Do we know when Arthur went into TH care? I’m wondering how long TH had full time parenting responsibility before ET was on the scene.

I think he had full time responsibilty from Feb 2019, when OH killed her partner

17:11CARL JACKSON
Trial adjourns until Tuesday morning

At one point Hughes is heard saying: "You hate me now don't you?"

At a later stage he said: "I am sorry."

Tustin's responses are inaudible. She is then heard leaving the van. An officer said 'Two minutes for you Thomas'.

Hughes replied asking to speak to an inspector.

Hughes then said: "I didn't do any of this on purpose. The reason I'm in here. I didn't do it on purpose. I just tried disciplining him, my son.

"I know you don't need to hear it. If you look at the paperwork and you see that one word and it's horrible."

The trial is adjourned until tomorrow morning.

Woman 'doing her eyebrows' at time she's accused of poisoning boy - updates

What does he mean that one word? does he mean murder?
Why is he not absolutely raging at ET for banging Arthur's head, is he that stupid to think he did it to himself at that stage? Does he still think that now I wonder? Asking her did she hate him, saying sorry to her! oh lord above!!!!

 

[Mellowmelly]

I think he had full time responsibilty from Feb 2019, when OH killed her partner


What does he mean that one word? does he mean murder?
Why is he not absolutely raging at ET for banging Arthur's head, is he that stupid to think he did it to himself at that stage? Does he still think that now I wonder? Asking her did she hate him, saying sorry to her! oh lord above!!!!

I think he had her up on such a high pedestal, he believed every word that came out of her mouth.

 

[ChloLo]

I feel like ET defence just made it even worse for her. There she is manipulating Hughes again. ET is something else. Something I don’t have forum appropriate words for.

So by my calculations TH had ‘sole’ care of Arthur for about 9months before the relationship with ET started. I say sole but he had support from his parents and family. Being a part-time parent can be very different from the reality of full- time and, not making excuses for Hughes, I don’t know if he ever fully grasped how to parent on his own.

 

[Mellowmelly]

16:19CARL JACKSON
Tustin's barrister begins re-examination
Tustin's barrister Mary Prior begins re-examination.

She takes the defendant to various topics and different parts of her evidence one after the other.

Tustin accepts she used 'unpleasant' names to refer to Arthur, but denies she called him a c*** or Satan to his face.

Ms Prior then asks her about a former cellmate. Tustin states the cellmate had once given her advice about her solicitors.

She tells the court they ended up in different cells because 'she assaulted me, robbed my underwear and bits of food while I was asleep'.

Ms Prior moves on to the journeys to and from the Magistrates' court but there has to be a short break before the trial can continue.


16:22JAYNE THOMSON
'Highlights' of recorded conversation between Tustin and Hughes in the van on the way to Magistrates' court played to court
The proceedings resume.

Ms Prior tells the jury they are going to be played 'highlights' of a covertly recorded conversation between Tustin and Hughes in the van on the way to Magistrates' court.

The recording is a little muffled but some exchanges can be made out.

Tustin: "How you feeling over Arthur?"

Hughes: "I don't think it's like set in yet."

Tustin: "I just feel completely lost."


16:30CARL JACKSON
Recorded conversations played to court
Tustin can be heard asking Hughes what he had told police about Arthur's bruises.

Hughes: "Basically I had done it. Said you will find DNA on him. Some fingerprints on him."

After a few moments Tustin asks: "Have you told them I never hurt him?"

Hughes: "Yeah. I said they will find messages on my phone where I said 'just whack him', she always refused because it's not her place."

Tustin asked if Hughes told officers about Arthur 'cracking' his head on Monday. She adds: "You need to tell them because that was the start of it I think."

Tustin later asked Hughes if Arthur's biological mother - Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow - had been informed

Hughes: "She's been notified. When he was on life support she tried getting a visiting order. By the time she would have got there he had passed away."

Hughes then says: "The thing is how can I plead not guilty? I haven't got a leg to stand on."


Woman 'doing her eyebrows' at time she's accused of poisoning boy - updates

How you feeling over Arthur ? What she really meant was, do you blame me ? Are you gonna go against me and tell the police I'm responsible for Arthur's death ? Do I still have the power to manipulate you against your son, even though I have clearly caused his death ? Are you still a gullible fool qho'd believe me over his own son ?

 

[ChloLo]

‘Discipline’… I just can’t. Did TH truly believe this was discipline? Surely he must have recognised it was different to his own experience of being parented.

 

[Mellowmelly]

‘Discipline’… I just can’t. Did TH truly believe this was discipline? Surely he must have recognised it was different to his own experience of being parented.

You could maybe understand a little, if he'd been treated like that as a child, and even if he was it'd still never be a good enough excuse for how he treated Authur, but theres no indication he had anything other than a normal upbringing.

 

[Dotta]

Summary

Stepmother accused of murdering six-year-old boy denies poisoning him with salt | Daily Mail Online

 

[Ironside]

I’m delighted the prosecutor brought up how unbelievable the using salt to treat a UTI story is. Hopefully at least one of the jurors has had a UTI in the past - they’ll instinctively know what a whopper of a lie this one is.

 

[Ironside]

Mr Hankin asked: 'This interview was three days after the event, that you are describing a very memorable event and you are emphasising the crack (you heard).

'Then you go to pick him up - and it is when you are with him, he loses consciousness.

'That is wholly at odds with what you are now saying to the jury. Why?' [...]


Mr Hankin asked her: 'You've changed your account haven't you?'

Tustin replied: 'Yes - because after I reviewed CCTV it showed I was not on the sofa and drinking my pop - that was the last thing I remembered.'

Mr Hankin took Tustin to her police interview transcript - the contents of which are agreed by Tustin's own defence team - and asked her: 'We've just read it.'

Tustin replied: 'Yes, I know that you've read it but that is not what I said.'

At that point, Mr Justice Mark Wall QC interjected and asked Tustin: 'I just want to be clear that I've understood this.

'You're saying the record of interview, that everybody has agreed, is inaccurate?'

'Yes,' she replied.

Stepmother accused of murdering six-year-old boy denies poisoning him with salt | Daily Mail Online

Epic unraveling. She’s now claiming agreed evidence isn’t true. This is absolutely huge.

 

[Carroll520]

How you feeling over Arthur ? What she really meant was, do you blame me ? Are you gonna go against me and tell the police I'm responsible for Arthur's death ? Do I still have the power to manipulate you against your son, even though I have clearly caused his death ? Are you still a gullible fool qho'd believe me over his own son ?

What an unusual thing to say, how are you feeling about Arthur, his son is dead, there should be no question as to how hes feeling, if they were normal people that is. Its like she is seeing if hes happy about it or relieved, i find it so weird!

 

[Carroll520]

Epic unraveling. She’s now claiming agreed evidence isn’t true. This is absolutely huge.

Yes this could be the breaking of her!!!

 

[Mellowmelly]

What an unusual thing to say, how are you feeling about Arthur, his son is dead, there should be no question as to how hes feeling, if they were normal people that is. Its like she is seeing if hes happy about it or relieved, i find it so weird!

Especially her being a parent herself, I shows her lack of empathy, I wonder what her relationship was like with her own kids for that matter. It would be interesting to find out how she treated them when no one was watching.

 

[nothinonyou]

I’m delighted the prosecutor brought up how unbelievable the using salt to treat a UTI story is. Hopefully at least one of the jurors has had a UTI in the past - they’ll instinctively know what a whopper of a lie this one is.

one of the most painful things I've ever experienced, I can't imagine salt would relieve the pain?! It's not an outer infection so how would rubbing salt help...

 

[Chessgirl]

I’m delighted the prosecutor brought up how unbelievable the using salt to treat a UTI story is. Hopefully at least one of the jurors has had a UTI in the past - they’ll instinctively know what a whopper of a lie this one is.

I get them regularly. Hot baths are definitely used to relieve the lower back pain, but Not with salt. Maybe epsom salt ... but sounds like this was not epsom salt for baths.