Arthur Labingo Hughes: Stepmother imprisoned for at least 29 years and father for 21 years for murdering a boy

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Arthur’s stepmother, Arthur Labingo Hughes, was imprisoned for life for a minimum of 29 years for starvation, poisoning, and then murder of the six-year-old boy.

Arthur suffered an unavoidable brain injury while in the care of “evil” 32-year-old Emma Tastin.

She assaulted him very forcefully in the hallway of her home in Solihull on June 16, 2020 before he died in hospital the next day.

“Wicked” Tastin was unanimously convicted of Arthur’s murder after an eight-week trial, with the boy’s “ruthless” father, Thomas Hughes, 29, convicted of manslaughter, after encouraging the killing.

He was jailed for 21 years during sentencing hearing at Coventry Crown Court on Friday.

Judge Mark Wall QC, who imprisoned the couple, said the trial was “without a doubt one of the most disturbing and disturbing cases I have had to deal with.”

The court previously heard how Tastin repeatedly banged Arthur’s head against a hard surface in the hours before his death, after she and Hughes carried out a campaign of abuse, including starving and then forcibly feeding him food covered in salt.

Six-year-old Arthur Labingo Hughes died in June 2020 after a campaign of abuse by his father and stepmother

(Family flyer / West Midlands Police / PA)

After his death, Arthur was found with 130 injuries all over his body, after being hit, slapped, kicked, punched, and beaten “over and over again.”

It emerged during the trial that social workers had seen Arthur only two months before his death, after concerns were raised by his grandmother, Joan Hughes, but concluded that “there were no protection concerns”.

In a victim impact statement, which she read in court before sentencing, Ms Hughes said that Arthur, as a “happy, content, and thriving seven-year-old”, would be “alive today” had he not met her son Tastin.

The high school teacher added: “It is also clear that Arthur has failed by the same authorities that we, as a society, believe are in place to ensure everyone’s safety.”

Madeleine Halcro, Arthur’s maternal grandmother, read the Victim Impact Statement on behalf of the child’s natural mother, Olivia Labingo-Halkrow, who recalled his “beautiful smile” and “gentle, nourishing spirit”, adding that he was “the light of my life”.

“I let him down by someone he trusted and should have protected him, he was left alone and isolated, and then they took him away from me,” she said.

“My child, my little love, was killed, defenseless, trusting and nothing but loving.

“I stole his short life and the hole he left in me and those who loved Arthur will never be repaired.”

As the hearing began, Mr. Wall revealed that Tastin had been brought to court for sentencing but that she “refused to appear” at the dock.

This photo by Arthur Labingo Hughes’ grandmother prompted his father to be referred to social services, but the bruising was due to a “play fight” with another young man

(Family flyer / PA)

As he imprisoned the husband, he said, “This cruel and inhuman treatment of Arthur was a deliberate decision on your part to ignore his cries for help as a naughty one.”

Addressing Tostin, who said he made a “calculated” decision to kill, he said, “You are a manipulative woman who will tell any lie, assign blame to anyone, to save your skin.”

He added, “You wanted Thomas Hughes so he could provide for yourself and your children, but you didn’t want Arthur to bother you anymore.”

The judge described Hughes’ “encouragement” of his girlfriend’s actions as “scary”.

He added: “I was Arthur’s father, in a position of trust and with the primary responsibility to protect him.

“He was so weak I lied to his school in the last days of Arthur’s life to protect you and Mrs. Tustin.”

An independent review of the work of social workers who found “no protection concerns” for Arthur is currently underway.

In all, social workers and the police are accused of missing out on four key opportunities to help Arthur last year.

“No child should ever suffer” the way Arthur did, said Boris Johnson, and that there are questions that need to be answered about the issue.

Arthur Labingo Hughes pictured with his father Thomas Hughes and Hughes partner Emma Tastin

(Family flyer / West Midlands Police / PA)

A spokesman for Johnson said: “The Prime Minister found the details of this case very disturbing and his thoughts are with those who loved Arthur, and no child should suffer in this way.

Obviously, there are questions that need to be answered in order to find out why this is happening.

“You will realize that a review of local child protection practices is underway to assess the circumstances surrounding Arthur’s tragic death at the hands of those who should have cared for him, and this review will look at local protection, including police, child welfare, health and education professionals in the local area.

“We will not hesitate to take any action behind that review.”

Additional coverage by the Press Agency

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