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

[Tinksx]

12:10TONY LARNER
Hughes admits calling Arthur 'little c***'
Ms Prior: "Are you trying to say everything that has happened was always Emma Tustin's fault, her control?"

Hughes: "No. She was a controlling personality. Not saying it was always all on her."

Ms Prior asks if he was hitting Arthur by this stage. Hughes says he thinks that started around the end of April / start of May.

Hughes confirms he ripped up two of Arthur's Birmingham City football shirts in front of him. He accepts it was a 'nasty and cruel' thing to do and that Arthur was 'visibly upset, crying' when it happened.

Ms Prior puts it to Hughes on one occasion he said to Arthur 'I'm going to knock you out' in a playfight, but when Arthur stuck his hands up to him Hughes responded: "Who the f*** do you think you are doing that to you little c***."

Hughes accepts that happened.

Ms Prior: "That is an example of your real nature with Arthur."

Hughes: "No, not at all."

He tells the court he had been told Arthur had misbehaved.

Ms Prior: "Or, you said to Arthur 'I'm going to knock you out' and he tried to defend himself."

Murder trial over death of boy, six, resumes after covid alert - updates

 

[Carroll520]

Ms Prior asks if he was hitting Arthur by this stage. Hughes says he thinks that started around the end of April / start of May.

Hughes confirms he ripped up two of Arthur's Birmingham City football shirts in front of him. He accepts it was a 'nasty and cruel' thing to do and that Arthur was 'visibly upset, crying' when it happened.

Ms Prior puts it to Hughes on one occasion he said to Arthur 'I'm going to knock you out' in a playfight, but when Arthur stuck his hands up to him Hughes responded: "Who the f*** do you think you are doing that to you little c***."

Hughes accepts that happened.

Ms Prior: "That is an example of your real nature with Arthur."

What a MONSTER!!!! how cruel he was to Arthur, its very hard to read

 

[Tinksx]

12:16TONY LARNER
Tustin was 'calling Hughes to say could not cope'
Ms Prior puts it to Hughes he was trying to find reasons to get out of Tustin's house because he was 'bored'.

Hughes says: "There was always something or someone to collect."

He accepts Tustin was regularly calling him asking him to come back home because she could not cope.

Hughes says trips to the shops took longer than usual because of Covid-19 restrictions.

He denies telling his friends he was making excuses to leave the house. He confirms he was describing his days as a 'crock of s***'.


Murder trial over death of boy, six, resumes after covid alert - updates

 

[Dotta]

Exactly. It’s not discipline because it doesn’t teach anything other than “when my parents don’t like something I do, they hurt me”. It’s just punishment without actually addressing the behaviour and what is causing it. It’s humiliating and breaks trust massively. Kids deserve to be listened to and they are not stupid, if you explain to them what they did wrong and why you don’t want them to do that it’s always going to be more effective than just being angry and smacking them.

My parents never really spanked me and now that I’m grown I can say that I turned out fine.

Dad always tells me the story of when I was very little, like 3 years old, he was reprimanding me about something and for the first time he gave me a soft spank on my bum to drive the message home. Apparently all hell broke loose and I was just crying my eyes out and so so upset that he freaked out and never did it again. He was also a pretty young dad (must’ve been 27 at that time) but understood that even if it didn’t physically hurt, that breach of trust, someone you love showing violence towards you, was enough to freak me out and fear isn’t a good way to teach a lesson.

Exactly!
What TH was doing had nothing to do with parenting but dog training.

 

[SpursGyal]

@Tinksx do you want me to take over?

 

[Tinksx]

@SpursGyal Go for it! And thanks

 

[Tortoise]

He was every bit as bad as that cruel, selfish woman.

Quite.

Just one example - quotes from the trial -

Arthur being dragged by his neck 'humiliating and dehumanising', court told
The trial resumes.

The court is played footage from the living room at the Cranmore Road home, at 9.50pm on June 15, last year, which shows Hughes dragging Arthur into the kitchen by the scruff of his neck.

Dr Dixon states it would have caused pressure to his neck.

Commenting on the emotional impact she says: "It would have been extremely impactful. A child would be aware that's not a way a child is cared for or handled. They would not have any experiences of seeing other children handled in this way.

"I would describe it as humiliating. I would describe it as dehumanising. It is akin to how someone might carry an animal by the scruff of the neck."

---

Tustin says she 'cannot justify' behaviour as jury again show footage of her holding Arthur by his clothes
Mr Hankin asks Tustin about the photograph of bruises on Arthur's back taken by Joanne Hughes in April.

Tustin repeats her account that the bruises were not visible when social services visited her home the following day.

Mr Hankin: "That's what you do when presented with incontrovertible evidence, you deny, deny, deny."

Tustin: "No I am not going to say they was there when they weren't."

Living room footage from June 13 is replayed. It shows Tustin shouting at Arthur as he walked into the kitchen and then Tustin holding his clothes by his neck as she forced him back into the hallway.

Mr Hankin: "Is that you losing your temper? Is that you assaulting Arthur?"

Tustin: "I suppose so. Yes."

Mr Hankin: "Let's watch it again."

Tustin: "Do we have to?"

She says she 'cannot justify my behaviour'.

---

Court shown Tustin holding Arthur by the back of his clothes
The court is played living room footage from around 2.15pm on June 16. It shows Tustin walk Arthur into the kitchen and then back to the hallway. She is holding him by the clothes at the back of the neck.

Mr Richmond asks Tustin to explain what she did.

Tustin: "I held Arthur by the back of his clothes, picked him up and put him in the hallway. When Arthur came out of the kitchen he was on unsteady legs. I thought he was being naughty. I know that wasn't the case now"

Mr Richmond: "You're squeezing the clothes up so they were really tight around his neck."

Tustin: "No. I held him at the back of his clothes. That's not what I did."

---

Hughes says Tustin 'used Arthur' like a ragdoll
Hughes says he had not seen the CCTV of the events inside Tustin's home at the time of Arthur's collapse until the trial.

Asked how he feels about it he says: "Angry. That's my boy and she used him like a ragdoll."

The court is played the living room footage.

Mr Richmond draws attention to Tustin holding Arthur 'by the scruff'. Hughes says he had never seen Tustin hold Arthur like that before.

Mr Richmond asks what Tustin told him happened.

Hughes: "That he had thrown himself to the floor. Had bashed his own head and that she picked him up once. He resisted and he carried on bashing his head. She come back and he was knocked out."

Mr Richmond asks how he feels having watched the CCTV footage of what happened.

Hughes: "I would rather not go into it at this point. My feelings are quite strong."

Prompted again he adds: "A lot of anger. Towards Emma Tustin. Partly towards me, mainly towards Emma Tustin."

Asked why he is angry with himself Hughes says: "My boy was put in that position and looking back I failed to act on it."

Murder trial over death of boy, six, resumes after covid alert - updates

 

[Smkd]

Ms Prior puts it to Hughes on one occasion he said to Arthur 'I'm going to knock you out' in a playfight, but when Arthur stuck his hands up to him Hughes responded: "Who the f*** do you think you are doing that to you little c***."

Hughes accepts that happened.

Snipped by me

God, Arthur must’ve felt so so confused, hurt, and like he was walking on eggshells all the time. Just thinking everything is fine, he’s just playing with his dad, and out of nowhere he has that thrown at him.

 

[Dotta]

12:16TONY LARNER
Tustin was 'calling Hughes to say could not cope'
Ms Prior puts it to Hughes he was trying to find reasons to get out of Tustin's house because he was 'bored'.

Hughes says: "There was always something or someone to collect."

He accepts Tustin was regularly calling him asking him to come back home because she could not cope.

Hughes says trips to the shops took longer than usual because of Covid-19 restrictions.

He denies telling his friends he was making excuses to leave the house. He confirms he was describing his days as a 'crock of s***'.


Murder trial over death of boy, six, resumes after covid alert - updates

Trips to shops!
And still some say he went to work

 

[Carroll520]

Ms Prior asks if he was hitting Arthur by this stage. Hughes says he thinks that started around the end of April / start of May.

Hughes confirms he ripped up two of Arthur's Birmingham City football shirts in front of him. He accepts it was a 'nasty and cruel' thing to do and that Arthur was 'visibly upset, crying' when it happened.

Ms Prior puts it to Hughes on one occasion he said to Arthur 'I'm going to knock you out' in a playfight, but when Arthur stuck his hands up to him Hughes responded: "Who the f*** do you think you are doing that to you little c***."

Hughes accepts that happened.

Ms Prior: "That is an example of your real nature with Arthur."

What a MONSTER!!!! how cruel he was to Arthur, its very hard to read

Snipped by me

God, Arthur must’ve felt so so confused, hurt, and like he was walking on eggshells all the time. Just thinking everything is fine, he’s just playing with his dad, and out of nowhere he has that thrown at him.

Its very hard to let yourself think of it too much, the actual reality that Arthur lived through, on a daily basis, its shocking to the core

 

[Dotta]

I wonder what were their plans concerning Arthur???
No school as he was skeletal by this point.
"Digging his grave" (words by TH) now makes sense.

 

[Bluebear15]

Absolutely horrific cruelty...poor, poor Arthur. Imo both scum and as guilty as each other, and if found guilty by the jury (which imo they will) they hopefully will have the book thrown at them.
I also hope that her ex will stop her children from visiting or talking to her on the phone, to ensure that she doesn't taint their minds with lies.

 

[SpursGyal]

'That's an absolute bag of lies isn't it?'
Ms Prior moves on to the incident on April 14 when Arthur had a fight with Tustin's son, which led to Hughes going back to his mother Joanne Hughes' home with Arthur.

Hughes explains how it started. He tells the court that morning they went to Tustin's mother's home and Arthur was allegedly rude to her. Hughes says Arthur apologised but Tustin said 'it's not good enough' because of a 'constant theme' Arthur was allegedly rude to her family members.

Hughes: "I thought that was a bit out of order. The journey back to Cranmore, there was tension. I tried to make Arthur a sandwich when I got back. I was told by Emma that she does the food, her food 'not good enough'. I said 'if that's the way you're going to be, I'm going back to my mom's, I can't be bothered to argue'."

He adds that Tustin told her son that Arthur was going back to his nan's so he should 'give him payback for what Arthur had done to him'.

"That's how the fight broke out, he tried to take the sandwich off Arthur," says Hughes.

Ms Prior: "That's an absolute bag of lies isn't it?"

Hughes: "Not at all

 

[SpursGyal]

Hughes says Tustin stopped him leaving home
Mr Prior asks if Tustin stopped Hughes leaving the home.

Hughes: "She did. She took the house keys, the front door and back door keys, moved them, hid them. I said 'I will climb out the window then'. I was told 'no'. She blocked me. She stood in front of me."

He says he was only 'allowed' to leave when Shane Hawkins arrived. Hughes tells the court he 'admitted' to Mr Hawkins he elbowed his son in the head even though he did not because 'it was a battle I wasn't going to win at that point'.

He states Mr Hawkins punched him.

Ms Prior puts it to Hughes when he returned to his mother's he went to the annexe and 'punched Arthur taking out your frustrations with him because he had been the cause of you and Emma splitting up'.

Hughes: "No."

 

[elliefant]

TH would have done much better (for his self-interest, not for justice) if he had not taken the stand and had left the jury with ET’s performance more recent in their memory. He may have received a lesser conviction and/or penalty than he will after his testimony in the dock.

 

[Dotta]

TH would have done much better (for his self-interest, not for justice) if he had not taken the stand and had left the jury with ET’s performance more recent in their memory. He may have received a lesser conviction and/or penalty than he will after his testimony in the dock.

But Hey,
Im not complaining - quite the contrary!
His true colours are shining through!
Good!

 

[SpursGyal]

'You were so vile to her you rang the police'
Hughes states he saw the bruises on Arthur's back and thought they were caused by Tustin's son.

He confirms his brother Blake told him about Arthur's disclosure that Tustin had grabbed his cheeks, pushed him into a wall and called him an 'ugly, horrible brat'.

Hughes accepts at one point he believed Tustin had hurt Arthur and that he sent her 'nasty messages' telling her to kill herself.

He says: "She sent them back as well. She also told me the same because of my self-harm. She said 'this time hit the right vein and this time don't miss'."

Ms Prior: "That's a lie, you have never said that before."

Hughes: "It happened."

Ms Prior: "You were so vile to her you rang the police."

Hughes: "Yes."

He states he had 'calmed down' by that point and Arthur had changed his story so he 'didn't want anything to happen to Emma'.

Hughes confirms he tried calling Tustin repeatedly and says: "She told me she had seen an internet story about someone jumping off a car park and I was concerned I couldn't get hold of her to check she was okay."

 

[Carroll520]

'You were so vile to her you rang the police'
Hughes states he saw the bruises on Arthur's back and thought they were caused by Tustin's son.

He confirms his brother Blake told him about Arthur's disclosure that Tustin had grabbed his cheeks, pushed him into a wall and called him an 'ugly, horrible brat'.

Hughes accepts at one point he believed Tustin had hurt Arthur and that he sent her 'nasty messages' telling her to kill herself.

He says: "She sent them back as well. She also told me the same because of my self-harm. She said 'this time hit the right vein and this time don't miss'."

Ms Prior: "That's a lie, you have never said that before."

Hughes: "It happened."

Ms Prior: "You were so vile to her you rang the police."

Hughes: "Yes."

He states he had 'calmed down' by that point and Arthur had changed his story so he 'didn't want anything to happen to Emma'.

Hughes confirms he tried calling Tustin repeatedly and says: "She told me she had seen an internet story about someone jumping off a car park and I was concerned I couldn't get hold of her to check she was okay."

Two very messed up individuals

 

[Dotta]

'You were so vile to her you rang the police'
Hughes states he saw the bruises on Arthur's back and thought they were caused by Tustin's son.

He confirms his brother Blake told him about Arthur's disclosure that Tustin had grabbed his cheeks, pushed him into a wall and called him an 'ugly, horrible brat'.

Hughes accepts at one point he believed Tustin had hurt Arthur and that he sent her 'nasty messages' telling her to kill herself.

He says: "She sent them back as well. She also told me the same because of my self-harm. She said 'this time hit the right vein and this time don't miss'."

Ms Prior: "That's a lie, you have never said that before."

Hughes: "It happened."

Ms Prior: "You were so vile to her you rang the police."

Hughes: "Yes."

He states he had 'calmed down' by that point and Arthur had changed his story so he 'didn't want anything to happen to Emma'.

Hughes confirms he tried calling Tustin repeatedly and says: "She told me she had seen an internet story about someone jumping off a car park and I was concerned I couldn't get hold of her to check she was okay."

They are both absolutely messed up individuals.

 

[Dotta]

Two very messed up individuals

OMG!!!
We send on the same wavelength