Warnings about Arthur Labinjo-Hughes ignored, says grandfather

Peter Halcrow, Arthur’s maternal grandfather, said warnings had been issued by the little boy’s other grandparents.

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was murdered by his stepmother (Family Handout/PA)
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was murdered by his stepmother (Family Handout/PA)

Warnings about Arthur Labinjo-Hughes were ignored, his grandfather has said.

Arthur’s stepmother Emma Tustin, 32, was jailed for life at Coventry Crown Court on Friday, with a minimum term of 29 years, after being found guilty of the six-year-old’s murder.

His father, Thomas Hughes, 29, was sentenced to 21 years for manslaughter.

They (his grandparents) issued warnings that were ignored

Peter Halcrow

Peter Halcrow, Arthur’s maternal grandfather, said warnings were issued by the little boy’s other grandparents.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “They’re decent people and they were very concerned. And they issued warnings that were ignored, shall we say.”

As for the couple responsible for his death, Mr Halcrow said they had committed a “heinous crime” by killing a “defenceless, innocent boy”.

Mr Halcrow told the broadcaster: “I wouldn’t give them the time of day and I wouldn’t want them to see the light of day ever again.”

Arthur was left with an unsurvivable brain injury while in the sole care of “evil” Tustin.

She was convicted of murder by assaulting defenceless Arthur in the hallway of her Cranmore Road home in Solihull on June 16 2020.

Arthur, whose body was covered in 130 bruises, died in hospital the next day.

Register for free to continue reading

Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism

By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists

Please enter a valid email
Please enter a valid email
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number
Please enter your first name
Special characters aren’t allowed
Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters
Please enter your last name
Special characters aren’t allowed
Please enter a name between 1 and 40 characters
You must be over 18 years old to register
You must be over 18 years old to register
Opt-out-policy
You can opt-out at any time by signing in to your account to manage your preferences. Each email has a link to unsubscribe.

By clicking ‘Create my account’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Already have an account? sign in

By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Register for free to continue reading

Registration is a free and easy way to support our truly independent journalism

By registering, you will also enjoy limited access to Premium articles, exclusive newsletters, commenting, and virtual events with our leading journalists

Already have an account? sign in

By clicking ‘Register’ you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use, Cookie policy and Privacy notice.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy policy and Terms of service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in