Warning: Graphic content, readers’ discretion advised. This story contains a recollection of crime and can be triggering to some readers discretion advised.
In August 2019, a 999 call was made to emergency dispatch for a 7 year old child, Arthur Labinjo Hughes who had taken a fall down some stairs.
The child could not be saved after several attempts, however the recordings, documented autopsy would discover horrifying secrets that had trapped Arthur in the most inhumane condition, something that even social services failed to notice again and again.
The truth was only discovered later at Arthur’s own home and in several clips.
this is the exact moment wenh 7 years old arthur labinjo -huges would give up on life .
and wih 5 hours an emergency 999 call would be made that would reveal to the world the most heartbreaking story on the internet.
thre story of arthur labinjo -hughes
he’d fallen and hid his head.but his was found in acondition that a fall could not justifiy.
” we could all ask for for one final thing it would be that would be remeber for his his super power and arthurs’a superpawover was his smil
-madeleine halcrow ,arthurs grandmother
he was surrounded by many guadian angels.but during covid 19 arthur had to be confinad witrg pure evil and lived through hell every day of his life.
the midlands england police departement would soon discover the most horrific secret clips and videos that they would wish they could unsee.
the call caem in on june 17 , 2020
6 year arthur labinjo hughes had taken a fall down the stairs , and a voice on the line was frantic paramedics arrive to find him gasping for or airand despite every effort to save him ,arthuräs life slipped away
it seemed like a tragic accident,until doctors noticed something that would haunt them for years.
there were horrific injuries that didn’t match the story from the call, arthur had died of a catastrophic brain injuries
the doctors said the damage was equivalent to a car crash.even the paramedix on the scene noted severe head trauma and multiple bruises across his body .
when the redoring wad played again,this time with shaper ears and deeper suspicion
the real story behind arthur’tragic end would leave every one shochked.
what had once seemes like desperatio,now echoed with something far darker.
the female voice on 911 wa 32 year old emma tustin.
the caregiver and stepmpither of six yeare old arthur labinja huges ,his father 20 year old thomas hughes wasn’t present wen the alleged accident accord .
leaving emma as the sole witness of arthur as last moments.
she was also the one who accompanied arthur to the hospital, recounting how he suffered the injuries.
but something didn’t sit right with the doctors,there suspicions led them to involved the police. and soon detedtives who were asking Emma for her first official statement.
the thinking step was the punishment area desingated for arthur by his father , thomas , and stempmother , emma.
it was a plce for him o stand and reflett on his actions . according to emma , arthur frewuently found himself there due to his behavior.
however on the evening of june 27 th 2020 the day of his death, arthur was especially rude and physically violent
emma had an emotional moment talking about the unruly child, who abused her.like many other stepmothers, her affection was not reicprocated.
hoever ,emma’s story largely stayed the sam as the details in the 999 call , and the narrative fatiled to align.
further investigation was essential , but it woud still lead to a truth so distubing it would stick with the investigators for the rest of their caereers
arthur was put on life suppport , but by 1. am following day it was determined that there was nothing more that could be done and the life support was switched off.
as the investigation presssed on a forensic examination revelead , arthur had over 130 separtae injuries in various stages of healing from head to toe .
every single part of his tiny body was bruised and hurt,his thymus , and one of his kidneys were severely strunken, a result of prolonged physical stress .
however , the cause of death was bleeding on the brain and comlete detachment of the retiina in his right eye.
little did the experts know that this was just the very tip of the iceberg.
when he was first taken to the hospital, he had severely elevated levels of sodium in his body, seven hours later , these levels remained unchanged,indicating that his body couldn’t prperlt absorb the excess salt he’d ingested. it was estimated that to achieve such sodium levels
arthur would have needed to consume six tablespoons of salt in one day or more likely be poisened with high levels of salt over several days.
the autopsy report and the inflicted injuries clearly ammounted to torture ,but it wasn’t even that that made this most notorious case in Middleton
it was the horrific discoveries that were yer to emerge.
durigng the investigation , capturing public attention liga a raging wildfire
authorities disvobered the unimaginable horror that was foced upon the innocent child and they were closing in on the sadistic monster who had committted the unthinable.
there was little doubt something ws not right behind teary eyed emma and fidgety thomas’ story
speculations were swirling across the country,bu it soon became evient that these were not merely assumptions.
the shallenge was to find what horrors cooked behind the scene.
the middleton police quickly obtained a search warrant for emmaäs two bedroom house where she lived with her boyfriend, thomas huges , and their children from prevoius marriage.
at firs glance , nothing seemed particular reallt noteworthy, exept for a CCTV camera installed in ethe livingroom.
emma and thoma stold investigators it was for monitoring arthur and ensuring he didnäät harm himself.
ehen the investigators took the recordings for further investigation, they had no clue it contained horrifying secrets that they would wish they could unsee.
the CCTV footage contained hearbreaking details of little arthur’s final hours ,scenes that would terrify everyone who laid eyes on them.
this disturbing recording was a couple of hours before arthur had the alleged accident, arthur beg for someone named blake to come and resue him
so who were these people that arthur was counting on near his end?
blake was arthur’s uncle ,brother of thomas hughes ,arthur could be seen frail , weak and barely standing when he called for his family beyond emma and thomas.
as the hours of these recording s were being investigated , detectives would reach out to arthur’s grandparents and uncle blake
the family was not only fortcomig ,but had much to share
arthur was born on january 4, 2014, just a year earlier he as one of the happiest children once could meet.
he adored superheroes and was a big fan of birmingham city football club
firstly arthur was the happiest child he was very very much loved by everyone he was my daughter’s baby bair and he was my sunny delight.
“as i say, he was very happy go lucky “
-madeleine halcrow ,arthurs grandmotherpeople who knew him descibed him a bright and full of energy however,as the grandparents would delve into the details
it would become quite clear arthur was a happy but not a very lucky child.
he was born to a coule thomas and olivia labinjo- halcrow
that had met during drug dates together ,when the parents separated arthur remained with olivia but she would enter into a new relalationship that was toxic through and through.
named Gary cunning ham whom she had met during an alcohol awareness course , both olivia and olivia were vilent towars each other
this toxic relationship utlimately reached a tragic climax in february 2019 when olivia in a drunken rage killed gary by stabbing him 12 times
however the most shocking part about this incident was that little arthur was actually witnessing the murder.
in 2020 olivia was sentenced for 11 years as the mother served her sentence little arthur moved in with his father ,tohmas and hid grandparents.
the love he’d known primarily came from his grandparents and and his uncle blake this was the safest time arthur had ever experienced.
but the wave of happy time would soon die down and the trail of misfortune befan with a simple date.
his father, would go on a adate with a woman named emma tustin that he’d met online.
as the ivestigation would open , detectives would get to know emma had a history of erratic and attention -seeking behavior.
bakc in 2013 she’d jump from a top of a multi-story car park after her boyfriend threatened to leave her,another occasion she threw herself out of a bedroom window to prevent her partner from going to the pub with his best friend.
an ex- boyfriend of hers was interviewed by the daily mail and he said ;
” she’s a black widow and she sucks the life out of each man she gets together with, she has no maternal instinct whatsoverver, she wanted children for the attention they brought her as newborns and for the child benefits, but once the attention died away and she was left at home with a baby, she didn’t want to know “
-ex boyfriend
she was also blamed to be neglectful mother and social services often made visits to her house, what happened when this women stopped into thomas and ultimately arthur’s life would be the final use of her evil
though thomas waas never the best father , he wasn’t a complete nightmare either, however, that would soon change as he and emma grew closer,leaving arthur to lose his father in a way he never anticipated
arthur joined his father end emma on several outings, but each time he returned,the grandparents found him increasingly reductant to go back with them.
“he’s dad came to pick him up, and arthur said to his dad,” is she in the car?” and his dead said “Yeas” and arthur started to cry, which isn’t like arthur , i’m assuming it was emma.”
the varmth of family was fading….
replaced by an unsettling tension he couldn’t wite understand, according to his grandparents, they first saw something was not right in their own home.
arthur was terrified of emma nad often tried to hide whenever she visited, thomas parent’s and brother were not fond of her either sensing an air of deceit and disregard.
however they couldn’t have anticipated the extent to what was unfolding.
during one of emma’s vistits as rthur’s grandmother tried to buy him a subweay sandwich emma abruptly told her not to feed him ,claiming it was an unnecessary indulgence to him.
these brief encounter served as a warning sign revealing jsut how comfortable and eager emma was to make decisions about arthur’s life.
but it wasn’t just her.
thoma’s bhavior was also changing
he began to lose his temper easily, after a night at hemma”s ,thomas retuned with arthur and blake noticed a little boy staring blankly at the wall.
it was an unusal sight for a child, when blake attempted to cheer him up with the snack thomas intervened,insisting that arthur was being punished and shouldn’t be fed.
this was just he beginning of a nightmare ….
…… that would only worsen.
as th panemic surged , the prime minister declared a complete loockdown as people confine themselves to their homes to avoid danger
arthur had the danger inside his own home, he fell under the wing of his father thomas in Emma’s house , seperated from his beloved grandparents and was rarely able to see them.
events were slowly for a gradual decline for arthur
during one occasion in lockdown arthur’s grandmother noticed a blue bruse on his shoulder.
“straight away i said these are non- accidental injuries ,i said they ‘re caused by an adult hand, i said his right shoulder, i can see three fingers i said his left shoulder i said that has been caused by hitting eith something or being pushed against something
but the most disturbing thing to me and i sad this to chris and joe i said, there’s new bruises on top of old,which tells me this has been going on and there’s yelllow bruises, there was purple bruises , all over his back.
and i just seen them,i jsut imagined the pain arthur would bave been in”
-arthur’s grandmother
despite thoma’s mother ,she acted quickly and filed a complaint with social services
the following day when arthur returned to emma and thomas ‘s house a representative from social servies called emma and came to visit.
however no action was taken they claimed there’s no little bruise insisting that arthur and emma’s two other childrenappeared happy and well.
however, the grandmother found the call before makeing the visit reason enough for emma to be alert and take necessary steps to cover up
so blake atetmpted to contact the middleton police but unfortunately, the officers never reached arthur because they thought the case was taken by the social services.
it wasn’t just once the family tried to ask for help for arthur again anda again,however,there be no result, something horrible was happening to arthur and novody could do anyhing.
in the meantime, the investigation into arthur’s death was flaring up as
his grandparents and family pointed fingers at emma and thomas.arthu’s grandparents and family pointed fingers at emma and thomas,but they weren’t sure what could have led to arthuräs demise.
a deeper investigation was launched against the couple and the ugliest truths started to surface.
investigators seized their phones and began reviewing the contents, what they discovereed in the audio recordings and thext messages exanged between emma and thomas was shoking.
which each new line that appeared on the screen ,the weight of whad had been hidden behind closed doors became unbearably clear.
emma and thomas were complct in this nightmare , and their messages and there messages revealed the extent of theit twisted partnership.
the messages explained arthru’s living sitution filled with hunger , isolation and physial abuse.
and most of these texts , emma complained about the vay venting frustrations, but alsod documenting her edcalating cruelty.
she was depriving arthur of food and drink,forscing him to stqn hours in the hallway as a form of punishment,the little boys cries dor food and comfort were met with mockery.
his desperation was called bisbehavior in these messages.
the messages back and forth served as a twisted form of reinforcement for both emma and thomas. she’s often record arthur’s distressed pleas , sending audio clipt to thomas.
when he wasn’t at home , as if seeking approval for her harsh treatment.
in response thomas eould express his own frustration with arthur and encourage her to be even more severe telling her to just end him or suggesting violent measures to silence cries.
at times the couple was just a few feet away from arthur as they texted their phones buzzing with cruel exchanges, while the boy was left to cry himself in the hallway or suffer alone in his his room.
emma expressed anyance over arthur’s need for affection, calling it as him acting out or labeling it as spoiling him.
emma and thomas discussed that arthur shoudl not be given certain foods or he should be punished for minor infractions.
the abuse wasn’t limited to neglect but this messages were laden verbal abuse and name calling, the hatred for him in these messages was prominent from both sides.
the mesages providedclear evidence that the househould atmosphere was one of intimidation and physical tornment, arthur had endured repeated assaults
in one of the messages it came out that emman and thomas had a disgreement ,leading emma t express that she could accet thomas but not arthur.
thomas respinden sharply isisting that she’d have to take both of him and arthur or none at all. this excchange revealed the troubling dynamics of their relationship as emmas rejection of arthur only increased thomas ‘s frustration
this tension indicted that thomas’ anger couldeasily escalate,leading to further mistreatment of arthur,there were many questions, but one thing was clear, arthur was living a miserable life , often going without food.
one piece of CCTV footage that previously seemed insignificant took a new meaning for the investigators, the footage revealed thomas and emma relaxing and enjoying ice cream on one of the hottest days of the year,meanwhile , arthur was forced to stand on the stairs , swelering and starving, denied water while wearing a thick onesie that only added to his discomfort.
thomas , cross legged while emma lunched over ,indugling in mc donald’s right in fron a starvin arthur who remained helpless in the hallway.
the question arose where all of emma’s children suffering in the same way?
arthur’s grandparents informed that emma’s children were often left unfed for long hours abandoned while emma stayed in a room.
however , what arthur endured was uniquely horrific. in none of the footage did emma’schildren appeared to suffer the same level of abuse that arthur did.
later , emma’s children would tell investigators that they , too ,faced punishment if they tried to help arthur,the distrubing details of this case seemed never ending .
as another heart wrenching clip awaited their review.
in these clips, arthur could be see standing and shuffling his feet, at first glance it seemes harmless until they realized he’d stood straight for up to 14 yours as the harrowing details got closer police would tighten their grip on thomas and emma
question them about arthur and the hearbraking details i n the tapes ,piece by piece thomas aand emmas story of accident began to change.
but it was thomas who would come loose first , and tell them the truth that was even more nitghtmarish than they already knew,
thomas told them that he might have gone too far in punishing arthur , de described to the investigators that arthur had some bahivor issues,because of which emma and the family suffered.
allthough it waas har to understand what crime a six year old could do to him to deserve a punishment,thomas was about to tell
he learned about torture methods used during interrogation methods that gave the maximum of pain without eaving scarring or bruises
so what really hpappened on june 17 th ,2020
arthur was suffering for long but did his body just gave up? no.it was simply and heartless truth of the case
there was in fact an even more heinous reality to the case , thomas had gone to the supermarket with emma’s children while arthur was left behind as usual .
starved and frail, arthur couldn’t have done anything that emma couldn’t handle on her own but she pinged to thomas that arthur was creating a problem when he told her to discipline him.
within a few hours ,emma decided to take thins in her own hands and led arthur do death.
when thomas returned , arthur was already unconsious after emma had already smashed his head against the wall several times.
when arthur didn’t get up after a few failed attempts , emma decided to call 999 with a story how arthur beat himself and then tooka a fall.
thomas shamelessly would tell the investigators it was his own fault and emma shold be let free he told them it was him not being ableto control arthur and then being carriedaway and getting him killed.
Emma was not to be blamed.
the distrubing case shook the country from middleton to the parlament.
with arthir’sdeath and the injuries clearly not -self inflicted the authorities finally saw through emma and thomas’ lies
on december 3,2021 at emma’s trial,the judge described the fatal attack as follows
“the final act of killing wasdone by you , Tustin, you shook him so that his head was hyper -extended and flexed on his neck, while simultaneously hitting it against a wall or the floor multiple times
the level of violence you used produced forces on his body equivalent to those experienced ina high-speed road traffic collision,the injuries sustained were extensive and devastating”
emma was conviceted of murder and received a life sentence with a minimum term of 29 years
thomas hughes who wasn’t present during the fatal assault was found guilty of manslaughter and sentenced to 21 years in prison .
in december 2020 is revealed that their sentences would be reviewed to assess if they were to lenient possible leading to longer terms for both
ema had four children from previous relationships though by the time she met thomas , only the two youngest were still living with her.
by then emma had already been reported to social services several times due to concerns about her childrens wellfare.
however,she’d become skilled at manipulating these situations,whenever social servies visited she’d resort to emotional tactics ,crying and portraying herself as a victim, each time the authorities would leave without taking any further action.
social servies had been part of the narrative all along ,but their absence in action was a plot twist no one saw coming.
how is it the social servies were involved so early in this case ,yet arthur’s prolonged suffering was overooked
