The harrowing last recorded moments of a ‘tortured’ six-year-old boy show him struggling to pick up his duvet from the floor where he was forced to sleep – just hours before he was allegedly murdered by his father and stepmother.
This heartbreaking clip was captured by CCTV and shows Arthur Labinjo Hughes, who is in terrible pain. His pyjamas seem to hang off his body, as he struggles to get up from the pillow.
As the boy falls to the ground, he cries out “nobody love me” before he can walk across the room.
Jurors from Coventry Crown Court saw the disturbing footage on Tuesday. Emma Tustin and Thomas Hughes are both accused of murdering Arthur at their Solihull, West Midlands home last June.
Six-year-old tragic Arthur Labinjo Hughes attempts to grab duvet from the floor where he had slept. This was captured in CCTV footage that Coventry Crown Court showed on Tuesday
Heart-wrenching footage shows Arthur Labinjo Hughes in his feces, unhappy and out of control. His pyjamas hang off him. He grimaced as he tried to grab his cover.
He is barely able walk and can be heard crying “nobody love me”
The court found that the child suffered a permanent brain injury from the cruelty that was applied to him. This is the medical definition of child torture.
The jury was told that the victim had been starved and made to stand for up to 14 hours each day before he died on June 17, 2013.
Hughes and Tustin denied the murder of Arthur, as well as multiple charges for child cruelty.
Jurors saw CCTV footage on Tuesday of Arthur trying to get his duvet out after he was forced to stay in the living area for five consecutive days.
The jury was shown Arthur’s final hours and told by jurors that he was weak and fragile and could not lift his covers when he woke up in the morning of June 16, last year.
It is claimed that Tustin had beaten the head of the schoolboy repeatedly against a hard surface, leading to his death.
Police released audio clips from Arthur’s agonizing cry, “No-one loves you” and “No-one’s going to feed you”, that were also played before the court.
Blake Hughes, Arthur’s uncle, said that Arthur burst into tears when he claimed Tustin had shoved him against a wall. He called him “ugly”
Prosecutors claim that Arthur Labinjo Hughes, six years old, was damaged by salt poisoning, starvation and months of abuse. (Image: Father Thomas).
Jurors from Coventry Crown Court saw the distressing video on Tuesday. Thomas Hughes (pictured), 29, and Emma Tustin (32) are charged with killing Arthur in their Solihull home, West Midlands.
Emma Tustin allegedly struck six-year-old Arthur Labinjo Hughes with a shaking hammer, injuring him irreparably.
He stated that he believed his mother abandoned him because he didn’t love her. Then he began to cry. He said that no one loved him.
Jurors were told by Tustin that Hughes would leave voice notes to Arthur whenever Hughes left his house.
Hughes would respond with messages that included ‘dig Arthur’s grave, I’ll take his neck off’ and ‘kid getting it when you get back’.
He also sent texts saying that he would take his ‘c*’ting jaw off his shoulders’ and told his partner ‘put him out with the rubbish’.
Hughes said earlier this week that he will also apply pressure points to Arthur’s neck in order to discipline him after watching videos of police brutality online.
To discipline himself, he said that he’d use the pressure points for between 10 and 15 seconds.
Jonas Hankin the Prosecutor stated that Arthur was the victim of verbally and physically abusive behavior by his and her partner.
He stated to the court that neither he nor his family can justify their actions to Arthur. Arthur, a defenseless child completely dependent upon them for his wellbeing, was totally dependent.
“Arthur was a victim of abuse, derision and systematic cruelty that caused him considerable physical and psychological suffering. The reasons for this were unfathomable.”
Arthur was taken by Birmingham’s Children’s Hospital, and life support was stopped in intensive care on June 17th at 1am.
Hughes and Tustin of Shirley, West Mids both denied Arthur’s assassination.
The trial is continuing.