Arthur Labinjo-Hughes

**Arthur Labinjo-Hughes** (January 4, 2014 - June 17, 2020) was a British boy.

## Early Life

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was the son of Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow and Thomas Hughes. The two separated shortly before his second birthday and though Arthur would live with his mother, both his parents shared custody of him until Labinjo-Halcrow stabbed her new abusive partner to death in an alcohol and drug fuelled rage in February 2019. This led to Hughes becoming Arthur's sole carer. The boy changed schools and moved along with his father into an annex behind his paternal grandparents' home. According to his grandmother he was initially 'nervous' but quickly became a 'happy, well-rounded child'.

In August 2019, Hughes met Emma Tustin on the dating website Plenty of Fish. Tustin did not mention initially that she had made a suicide attempt in 2013 and her two eldest children had gone to live with their fathers. Hughes introduced his son to his girlfriend early on in the relationship and she later claimed that they were 'friends straight away'. As Arthur returned to school after the summer holidays a teaching assistant stated that she had 'no concerns' about his condition. However, the child's uncle, with whom he had a close bond, soon began to notice that Hughes seemed to be becoming stricter with the boy, who appeared to be more fearful of getting into trouble. An official at school noted that the child became less happy as autumn progressed, and met with his father and grandmother about her concerns that the boy was developing an obsession with topics such as guns, death and the news, along with fears about being separated from or killed by his father. There was also an incident during a School Nativity play where Arthur became upset when a baby doll was removed from its crib.

## Abuse and Death

In May 2020, Arthur was frequently forced to stand in the hallway for hours on end as a punishment for his supposed misbehaviour. Tustin reported these incidents to Hughes via text messages and audio clips of him crying. In these clips, the child could be heard crying for his grandmother and uncle, and at one point said "nobody loves me". The couple used insults such as "Satan", "Hitler", "Devilchild", "weasel" and various swear words to refer to the boy. Hughes frequently threatened violence against his son. Tustin said at one point to Hughes that "I want you but I don't want him". By the end the month, he was moved out of Tustin's son and daughter's bedroom and made to sleep on the living room floor, where he was kept even when the other children slept elsewhere.

When Arthur's school reopened on 8 June he was not in attendance; Hughes was contacted by the school about the matter but provided various excuses for the child's absence. The couple installed a camera at home to monitor Arthur during his isolation. Arthur spent 35 hours of the three-day period between 12 and 14 June in the hallway, having been sent out. He was slapped by Tustin for entering the living room. The camera also recorded the couple and Tustin's children enjoying food and leisure activities which Arthur was not allowed to participate in.

On the morning of 15 June Tustin woke the boy up by ripping his bedding out from under him. She then took him with her to spend most of the day at her hairdresser's house. Throughout the six or so hours she was there, she forced the boy to stand by the door, and frequently shouted and swore at him. The child collapsed to the floor as they left the hairdresser's but was not helped by either Tustin or Hughes. Later that evening, Hughes belted Arthur on the legs. Hughes also told Tustin to "Just end him".

On the morning of June 16th, Arthur appeared on CCTV footage to be weak, in visible pain, and struggling to lift his bedclothes. Hughes, Tustin and Arthur went back to the hairdresser's house where Arthur was constantly shouted at by the former two. 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". After getting home, Tustin claimed the boy hit his head against the bathroom door. She is believed to have carried out a fatal assault at 2:29 p.m. Twelve minutes later, after phoning Hughes, she called 911 and told medics that he "fell and banged his head and while on the floor banged his head another five times". Arthur was left with an unsurvivable brain injury. She took a photo of the dying boy, which she sent to Hughes. After he was taken to Birmingham Children's Hospital, it was decided that nothing could be done to save him and he died later that night. He was six years old at the time. 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 amounted to torture.