A father accused of killing his son was convicted today by a court. He had previously tried to revive his son by giving him Coca-Cola.
Arthur Labinjo Hughes (6 years old) was allegedly killed by systemic abuse suffered from Thomas Hughes (29), & stepmother Emma Tustin (32). Prosecutors claim that the victim’s medical definition of child cruelty was met.
It is believed that the youngster was starved and made to stand for 14 hour a day before being poisoned with salt. The attack on his home occurred in June 2020.
Prosecutors claim that Arthur was murdered by Tustin while they were alone in her council house near Solihull (West Midlands) and that Hughes ‘intentionally encouraged the killing.
The couple denies murder and multiple counts child cruelty.
Arthur Labinjo Hughes (6 years old) was allegedly killed in the face of systemic abuse that met the’medical definitions of child torture’. His father Thomas Hughes, 29 (pictured with Arthur), as well as his stepmother Emma Tustin (22) deny murder and child cruelty.
Hughes (pictured) and Tustin (pictured), are believed to have subjected Arthur ‘designed for torture’ to systematic cruelty. They deny murder
Tustin said that Arthur was responsible for his death after he hit his head on the concrete floor during police interviews.
In transcripts read to jurors at Coventry Crown Court, the mother-of-two told detectives she ‘heard a crack’ as the youngster ‘knocked him f******-self out’.
She stated, “There’s nothing underneath the floor, it’s just concrete.”
“He shook his head, and I reached for him to pick me up. He flung both arms at me. He said, “I don’t care.”
Football mad Arthur fell ill with ‘unsurvivable’ brain injuries on Tuesday, June 16, and later died the next day
“He threw himself down and smacked his forehead two or three times. I put my arms underneath him, and he was not fighting me. I lifted him up and placed him on the stairs. I checked his pulse and made sure he was breathing.
Tustin was joined in by Hughes, who had just returned from buying a birthday cake when Arthur fell.
She claimed that he tried to pour Coca-Cola in Arthur’s mouth. Officers were told by her: ‘Tom was talking with him, he didn’t have time to talk with him. He tried to give it Coca-Cola.
“Why are you giving him Coca Cola?” Is he trying to put Coke in my mouth?
Tustin said that she remembered going to Carol Miller, her neighbor, to get CPR. She stated that Hughes said to her, “Don’t worry Arthur about the things you’ve done. Everything will be alright.”
She said that she was disgusted by the incident. It was horrible. It was horrible.
“[He said]”Come on Arthur! You’re my world. He’s my universe, he is my world, come on Arthur.
After Olivia LabinjoHalcrow was accused in February 2019 of killing Gary Cunningham, Arthur was in Hughes’ full-time custody.
Jurors were told Hughes then accepted Tustin’s offer and moved into Hughes’ Cranmore Road home after the country entered lockdown on March 2020.
Hughes (left) is accused in the murder of his son.
A heartfelt note was left at Arthur’s former home following his death.
Tustin pleaded guilty to child cruelty, but denies any further charges. Hughes denies all charges.
Jurors were able to hear text messages between Hughes & Tustin earlier in the trial. They discussed alleged abuse.
Hughes threatened to ‘take off his jaws’ and told Tustin, “Just gag him or something.” Attach a rope to Hughes’ mouth and wrap a sock around it.
Tustin claimed that Arthur was not her assault and that Hughes was responsible.
Tustin claimed that she saw Hughes attack her son the day before Arthur fell.
Officers heard her say, “I could hear his hands moving.”
“I asked Tom what was up. He said that he was being disrespectful. If I have the need to force him to learn then so be it.
“I don’t agree with this.” I would never, ever hit any of my children. He didn’t care.’
The trial was told that Arthur’s grandmother Joanne Hughes, Arthur’s paternal grandmother made a referral for Solihull children’s service to report bruises to her grandson’s shoulders. She claimed Tustin could be to blame.
However, social services visited the site and found that there were no safeguarding concerns. A social worker stated that she could not spot anything other than a faint yellow bruise.
The court heard that West Midlands Police also shut down the log after Arthur’s uncle Daniel Blake submitted photos of bruising.
Tustin claimed that Arthur’s head injuries were self-inflicted in a 999 call 12 minutes after Arthur was unresponsive on June 16. She claimed that he had bludgeoned his head on the floor, on all fours.
Arthur died at Birmingham Children’s Hospital on the following day.
Police stand outside the home of Arthur Labinjo Hughes, six, on Cranmore Road, Shirley, Solihull West Midlands.
A medical expert stated earlier in the trial that he believed Arthur was shaken, and he was slammed with “very severe” force.
Daniel Du Plessis, neuropathologist consultant, stated that Arthur’s chances of sustaining fatal head injuries are ‘inconceivable.
Tustin pleaded guilty to child cruelty, but denies any further charges. Hughes denies all charges.
Opening the trial, Mr Hankin said to jurors: “Both defendants participated a campaign of cruelty meant to cause Arthur significant harm.
‘Violence, intimidation, both verbal and physical, were a routine.
“Arthur’s obvious injuries, his poor physical condition and apparent despair served as a reminder to each defendant of the extremes that the other would go to to do him harm.
The trial continues.