The death of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes after a campaign of abuse by his father and stepmother has been described as one of the most “distressing” child abuse cases in recent history.

Thomas Hughes, 29, and his girlfriend Emma Tustin, 32, were sentenced to 21 and 29 years in prison respectively over the killing of the six-year-old boy in Solihull last June.

An independent review is now being carried out into how, on several occasions, the authorities failed to intervene.

Experts have claimed the coronavirus lockdown has “exacerbated” existing problems in child protection that may have contributed to the schoolboy’s death.

Here Sky News looks at the events leading up to Arthur’s death and the missed opportunities to try to save him.

Warning: This story contains distressing details about the treatment and subsequent death of a little boy

February 2019

Arthur’s biological mother, Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow, 29, killed her then-partner Gary Cunningham, also 29, in an alcohol and drug-fuelled knife attack.

Arthur was then moved into the care of his father, Thomas Hughes, who had previously separated from Labinjo-Halcrow.

They lived in an annexe at the back of his parents’ home.

August 2019

Hughes met Emma Tustin on the online dating website Plenty of Fish and the pair started a relationship.

December 2019

Arthur’s teachers described noticing a change in him in late 2019 – around six months before his death.

February 2020

A witness told Hughes and Tustin’s trial that she had seen Arthur in February 2020 and he appeared to be healthy.

But by June that year he was “physically weak”, struggling to stand and climb the stairs.

March 2020

The UK went into lockdown on 23 March, with Arthur and his father moving into Tustin’s home in Cranmore Road, Solihull.

16 April 2020

Arthur’s paternal grandmother Joanne Hughes told her son’s trial she had seen bruises on Arthur’s back.

She said he told her Tustin had called him an “ugly, horrible brat” and pushed him down the stairs.

Mrs Hughes contacted children’s social services expressing concern about the bruises.

17 April 2020

The following day, two social workers visited Arthur at home, but said they had “no safeguarding concerns”.

20 April 2020

Still distressed by what she had seen, Mrs Hughes contacted Arthur’s School – Dickens Heath Community Primary.

The school’s safeguarding lead then contacted social services but was also told there were “no concerns”.

At an unspecified date in April, Arthur’s uncle Daniel Hughes told his brother’s trial that he was also aware of his nephew’s bruises.

He claimed to have had images of them and told jurors he reported them to police but got no response.

May 2020

The following month, on an unspecified date, Tustin’s stepfather John Dutton told the court he made an anonymous call to social services after witnessing her treatment of him.

He also claimed to have had no response.

June 2020

Arthur’s primary school reopened on 8 June after coronavirus restrictions were lifted, but he did not return.

Instead he was subjected to endless abuse, whereby he was physically and verbally abused, made to stand for hours at a time and force-fed salt-laced food.

A West Midlands Police’s investigation found a CCTV camera had been set up in the living room at Tustin’s home.

It revealed Arthur was forced to stand on his own in the hallway for more than 14 hours at a time and punished for trying to sit down.

Detectives found no evidence he had his own bedroom or somewhere comfortable to sleep.

They discovered his duvet crumpled in a cupboard under the stairs, with footage revealing he slept on the living room floor each night.

Distressing audio played to the jury saw Arthur saying “no one loves me” and “no one’s going to feed me”.

Arthur had exceedingly high levels of salt in his system when he died.

A specialist kidney consultant told the trial that either he would have had to have consumed at least six and a half tablespoons of salt on the day he died – or was deliberately poisoned with heavily salt-laden food and water over a longer period of time.

A post-mortem examination revealed he had more than 100 marks and bruises on his head, body and limbs, which were inflicted at different stages.

Hughes and Tustin gave different accounts for his injuries, but both revolved around Arthur being violent, badly behaved, and banging his own head against the floor.

15 June 2020

Police analysis of text messages between Tustin and Hughes on the day before Arthur’s death revealed that 18 hours beforehand Hughes instructed Tustin to “just end him”.

16 June 2020

Hughes left the property at Cranmore Road just after 1pm on 16 June, leaving Tustin alone with Arthur.

Tustin later told police Hughes had gone out to get her a birthday card.

The CCTV set up inside the house, combined with analysis of text messages and phone calls exchanged between the couple, suggests that Tustin attacked Arthur and then failed to call an ambulance for 12 minutes.

Jurors heard Tustin violently shook him and banged his head repeatedly, most likely against the wall where he was previously made to stand in punishment.

During those 12 minutes, CCTV showed her carrying Arthur from the living room into the kitchen and then back into the living room, before propping him up on the sofa.

She took a photograph of him on her mobile phone and sent it to Hughes.

Hughes then returned home and the pair were seen trying to give Arthur something to drink and some children’s paracetamol while he was unconscious.

They eventually called 999, lying to police and paramedics that Arthur “fell and banged his head”.

Medical experts who gave evidence at the trial said his injuries could have only been caused by head trauma inflicted on him by an adult.

When the emergency services arrived they found Arthur unconscious, with a neighbour performing CPR on him on the floor inside.

He had very bad bruising, appeared underweight and his gums were bleeding.

Body-worn video footage showed Tustin lie to police outside the house, saying Arthur had “banged his head on the radiator” “hit” and “kicked” her, after being told to “sit on the thinking step”.

She then claimed he had banged his own head on the floor three times.

“He’s battered his dad… he’s hit me…,” Tustin told officers immediately after Arthur was attacked.

“I’ve done my best for that kid,” she added through tears.

17 June 2020

Arthur was rushed to hospital but at 1am the following day, he was pronounced dead.

After giving conflicting accounts at the scene, Tustin and Hughes were arrested later that day.

20 June 2020

After police questioning, the couple were both charged with causing or allowing the death of a child on 20 June.

22 June 2020

The following Monday morning, they appeared before magistrates and were remanded in custody.

July 2021

Following a retrial of her case at Birmingham Crown Court, Arthur’s biological mother Olivia was jailed for 11 years for the manslaughter with diminished responsibility of her partner Gary Cunningham.

October 2021

On the opening day of the couple’s trial, on 5 October 2021, Tustin pleaded guilty to wilfully ill-treating a child on multiple occasions.

In the final days of proceedings, she also pleaded guilty to one count of cruelty by assaulting a child on multiple occasions.

During the trial, Hughes claimed Tustin had manipulated and “mentally abused” him into assaulting Arthur.

2 December 2021

On 2 December, Tustin was convicted of murdering Arthur, the two charges of child cruelty she had already admitted to, alongside two more – withholding food and drink and administering salt.

Hughes was convicted of Arthur’s manslaughter and two counts of cruelty by forced standing, isolation and intimidation, as well as assault.

He was found not guilty of murder and cruelty by withholding food and drink and administering salt.

3 December 2021

On 3 December at Coventry Crown Court, Tustin was jailed for life with a minimum of 29 years, while her partner Hughes was sentenced to 21 years.

Judge Mr Justice Mark Wall QC described it as “without a doubt one of the most distressing and disturbing cases I have had to deal with”.

He addressed the pair, adding: “This cruel and inhuman treatment of Arthur was a deliberate decision by you to brush off his cries for help as naughtiness.”

Solihull’s Local Child Safeguarding Partnership is now carrying out an independent review of the circumstances surrounding the “terrible tragedy”, including the actions of Solihull Council’s social services.

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