Murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes (4 January 2014 – 17 June 2020) was a six-year-old child living in the West Midlands, England who was abused and subsequently killed by his carers during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The boy was mistreated over the course of several months by his father, Thomas Hughes, and his father's partner, Emma Tustin.

When Labinjo-Halcrow killed her partner in February 2019, responsibility for the boy was transferred to his father.

Thomas Hughes decided to take his son to live with his new partner Emma Tustin and her children during COVID-19 related restrictions. Thomas Hughes and Tustin's behaviour towards Arthur became increasingly neglectful, with Arthur forced to spend extended periods isolated from the rest of the household.

By the time of his death, Arthur was malnourished, suffering from salt poisoning, and covered with over 130 bruises.

The case received significant attention in the local area and across the United Kingdom, provoking discussion about the protection of children at risk of abuse and criticism against Child Protective Services for their lack of intervention.

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was the son of Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow and Thomas Hughes.

The two separated shortly before his second birthday.

Both Arthur's parents shared custody of him whilst he lived with his mother.

In February 2019, Labinjo-Halcrow stabbed her new partner, Gary Cunningham, to death after a period of mutual domestic violence.

This led to Thomas Hughes becoming Arthur's sole carer.

Arthur changed schools to Dickens Heath Community Primary School and moved into an annex behind his paternal grandparents' home, with his father.

According to his grandmother, Arthur was initially 'nervous' but quickly became a 'happy, well-rounded child'.

In August 2019, Thomas Hughes met Emma Tustin on the dating website Plenty of Fish.

Thomas Hughes introduced his son to Tustin early on in the relationship and she later stated that she and Arthur were 'friends straight away'.

As Arthur returned to school after the summer holidays, a teaching assistant stated that she had 'no concerns' about his wellbeing.

However, the child's uncle noted that Thomas Hughes seemed to be becoming stricter with the boy, and Arthur appeared to be more fearful of getting into trouble.

An official at Arthur's school noted that the child became less happy as autumn progressed.

She organised a meeting with Arthur's 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.

This culminated on 17 June 2020 with Tustin killing Arthur via blunt force trauma to his head.

Tustin and Thomas Hughes were convicted on murder and manslaughter charges, respectively, in December 2021.

After Arthur's parents separated in his infancy, he was initially cared for by his mother Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow.

In early 2020, Thomas Hughes took his son to multiple medical appointments but the boy was not diagnosed with any mental health problems.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 pandemic led to the closure of all schools in the UK and a national lockdown by the end of March 2020.

At the beginning of the lockdown, Arthur and his father were staying in Tustin's home.

Though Thomas Hughes' mother asked that he and Arthur come to her house, he refused, instead deciding to move in with Tustin at her home in Solihull for the duration of the lockdown.

In April 2020, Thomas Hughes returned home with his son for a few days due to a disagreement with Tustin.

Whilst he was at his grandparents' house, Arthur said that he had been pinned against the wall by Tustin, called a "horrible ugly brat", and his grandmother found several bruises on his back.

Thomas Hughes soon returned to his partner's house and refused the grandmother's request to leave the boy at her house for longer, prompting her to report him to social services.

The next day, a social worker went to visit Hughes and Tustin's household.

She was told that Arthur's injuries had been sustained in a fight with Tustin's son.

The social worker concluded that Arthur was 'very happy and very safe' and that there were no safeguarding issues in the household.

Thomas Hughes said that Tustin coached the boys to lie about the incident and had warned him they would lose custody of their children if he did not cooperate as well.

The incident was later reported to the police again by Arthur's uncle with no effect.

In May 2020, Arthur was frequently made to stand in the hallway for long periods of time as a punishment for his alleged misbehaviour.

Tustin reported these incidents to Thomas 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.

Thomas Hughes would frequently threaten violence against his son.