Today it emerged she has already been attacked in jail by fellow inmates. Hughes' barrister, Bernard Richmond, said Tustin saw Arthur as her 'prey'. Tustin, who had two of her children taken into care following a suicide attempt, repeatedly complained she could not cope with Arthur's behaviour during lockdown and begged Hughes to let him return to his grandparents. Arthur's maternal grandmother, Madeleine Halcrow, said that Tustin was 'obsessed' about the idea Thomas would go back to Olivia, and that 'the only way she could get Olivia out of her life was by getting rid of Arthur'. Hughes met mother-of-four Tustin online and the couple moved with Arthur into her home near Solihull in the West Midlands when the government declared a lockdown in March 2020. Following the verdicts, the judge ordered a minute's silence for Arthur at the request of the jury.Īrthur was put into the custody of his father after his biological mother Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow, 29, killed her partner Gary Cunningham by stabbing him 12 times with a kitchen knife in a drunken rage in February 2019. They were both convicted of numerous counts of child cruelty. It comes after Tustin was convicted of murdering Arthur on June 17, 2020, during the Covid lockdown. Hughes was also found guilty of manslaughter - but cleared of murder. While sobbing, Tustin added: 'And even so I've done my best for that kid.' 'You're not my real mum I hate you, I'm going to get my mum to kill you', he said.' 'Yesterday we went to my friend's house, he's pushed me down five stairs. 'When I tried to get him off the floor, from head-butting the floor, he head-butted me and he's kicked me and he's hit me.Īn artist's impression of Tustin and Hughes in court not long before they were convicted of killing him today She said: 'The last six months, he's battered both my kids, he's smashed this house to pieces, he's battered his dad, he's hit me. The police officer asked her if Arthur was 'unresponsive', to which Tustin confirmed 'yes', before beginning to cry and claim that the six-year-old had 'battered' her children and his father and 'smashed the house to pieces'. Tustin continued: 'I picked him up off the floor, tried to put him on the stairs just to get him to - but his head's obviously going - so I put him on the stairs and phoned an ambulance.' Seeming to become emotional, Tustin said Arthur 'hit' and 'kicked' her as she tried to lift him up off the floor, while her partner Hughes stood next to her and remained silent. So I tried to bear hug him and put my arms underneath him and pick him up and he dropped and he banged his head another three times on the floor.' When asked by the officer what she did when he banged his head, Tustin says: 'I came out, told him to get up, he told me no. I picked him up, put him on the sofa poured water in his mouth.' But he banged his head three or four times, he'd knocked himself unconscious. She added: 'It's concrete, there's no underlay under that. Taking the police officer into the doorway of the home, she pointed to the area in the doorway where she claimed Arthur hit his head. 'At that point he was fine, and then he dropped his head again as I've tried to bear hug him and pick him up, and he head-butted the floor three times.' 'I said "Arthur you're going to hurt yourself, I've phoned your dad" and he said "I don't care". Emma Tustin, 32, (left) killed Arthur Labinjo-Hughes by repeatedly slamming his head on a hard surface after she and 29-year-old Thomas Hughes starved the youngster and poisoned him with salt
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