Murder of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was born on the 4 January 2014, the son of Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow and Thomas Hughes. 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. At the beginning of the lockdown, Arthur and his father were staying in Tustin's home. == Abuse ==

In April 2020, Thomas Hughes returned home with his son for a few days due to a disagreement with Tustin. While 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. Tustin said at one point to Thomas that "I want you but I don't want him", referring to Arthur. By the end of the month, Arthur was moved out of Tustin's son and daughter's bedroom and made to sleep on the living room floor. He was made to sleep there even when the other children slept elsewhere. When Arthur's school reopened on 8 June he was not in attendance; Thomas 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 forced to go there by his father and Tustin. 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 15 June, Tustin took Arthur with her to spend most of the day at her hairdresser's house. Throughout the six hours Tustin 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 Thomas Hughes when he arrived. Later that evening, Thomas Hughes belted Arthur's legs and later told Tustin to "Just end him". == Day of the murder ==

On the morning of 16 June, Arthur appeared on CCTV footage to be weak, in visible pain and struggling to lift his bedclothes. Thomas 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 went upstairs at about 2:00pm. Later at trial, the prosecution argued that she gave Arthur an overdose of salt in the bathroom at around this time though Tustin denied this. Additionally, Tustin photographed Arthur crying in the hallway at 2:15pm. Tustin then took a photo of the dying boy, which she sent to Hughes. Arthur was left with an unsurvivable brain injury. == Aftermath ==

The case made a significant impact on the local community and particularly football fans. Arthur's favourite team, Birmingham City F.C, named a family area at the St Andrew's stadium after him and supporters sang his name on a march through Birmingham prior to a match. More broadly the child was honoured at various football matches on 4 December 2021. The head of Solihull council reported that social workers had been forced to leave their homes due to abuse and threats related to the case. The incident provoked discussion of the impact of the COVID-19 lockdown on the welfare of vulnerable children. Anne Longfield, the former children's commissioner for England, said: Statistics for England suggested that there had been a 20% decrease in referrals to local authorities' children's departments but a 20% increase in reported cases of child harm and a 19% increase in child deaths. The trial related to the case of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes took place at a similar time to the one related to the murder of Star Hobson, another young child who was abused and killed by carers. Several parallels were noted between the cases such as both children being killed by their parent's new partner, having extended family who tried to help them, and being of known concern to the authorities. Additionally, both were murdered during the COVID-19 pandemic which was argued to have made it easier for their worsening condition to be hidden from others. In July 2021, Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow was convicted of the manslaughter of her partner, and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. Beginning in 2022, Birmingham City and Solihull Moors F.C. announced an annual pre-season game named "The Arthur Cup", with a portion of proceeds from the match going to the NSPCC. Legal proceedings Due to the nature of Arthur's injuries and the accounts given by Tustin and Thomas Hughes, both were arrested on the evening of 16 June initially on suspicion of assault and then murder. Thomas Hughes was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 21 years. He is being held at HMP Wakefield. The Attorney General's office said on 4 December that the sentences would be reviewed to "determine whether they were too low" under the unduly lenient sentence scheme. Mr Justice Wall, the presiding judge, described the case in his sentencing remarks as among the most "distressing and disturbing" cases that he has dealt with. On 29 July 2022, Thomas Hughes' sentence was increased to 24 years on appeal as the judge found his original sentence to be too lenient. A local review was launched into the incident soon after the boy's death. Shortly after the conviction, the government announced that there would be a national inquiry into the case. The review found that child protection services had been involved in Arthur's life on various occasions dating back to 2018 and repeatedly not intervened to help him. == See also ==