Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, six, suffered an “un-survivable” brain injury during the Covid-19 lockdown in June 2020.
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The body of a tortured and murdered boy is still in the morgue with no funeral planned yet as his stepmum and dad were jailed today.
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, six, suffered an “un-survivable” brain injury during the Covid-19 lockdown in June 2020.
Callous and ‘pitiless’ Emma Tustin, 32, was handed a sentence and will serve a minimum of 29 years while Thomas Hughes, 29, was jailed for 21 years today at Coventry Crown Court.
The sentencing comes as a disagreement of Arthur’s final resting place has developed between his biological relatives.
Madeleine Halcrow, Arthur’s maternal grandmother, told the MailOnline that Arthur’s remains are still in the mortuary of Leicester Royal Infirmary – 16-months after the post-mortem was carried out.
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She said it was over a legal dispute over who has the right to lay him to rest as her family wants to bury him in a small churchyard in Birmingham.
The Hughes side of the family wants to bury Arthur somewhere else and have control over the service.
Madeleine said she’s consulted with solicitors on what to do.
She told the website: “I hope that we can reach some sort of agreement with the Hughes family – for Arthur’s sake.
“But for the time being it doesn’t look that way and it’s looking increasingly likely the matter of will be able to lay him to rest will go to court.”
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It comes after the harrowing eight-week trial Coventry Crown Court where jurors heard Tustin carried out the fatal assault while she had sole care of Arthur.
She was said to have fetched her mobile phone immediately afterwards to take a photograph of the youngster as he lay dying in the hallway of her home in Solihull, West Midlands.
Tustin then took 12 minutes to call 999, instead of first ringing Hughes, before lying to medics and later telling police that Arthur “fell and banged his head”.
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Tustin was found guilty of murder and Hughes of manslaughter.
She had already admitted two counts of child cruelty during the trial, including carrying out three assaults on the boy and also making him sit or stand in her hallway for up to 14 hours a day as part of a behavioural regime.
Jurors convicted Hughes on both those counts.
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At the start of the pair’s sentencing hearing at Coventry Crown Court on Friday, Ms Hughes read a victim impact statement on behalf of her family.
The secondary school teacher said Arthur, was a “happy, contented, thriving seven-year-old” would “be alive today” had her son not met Tustin.
Madeleine read a statement on behalf of the boy’s biologically mum.
She said: “He was let down by a person he trusted and should have protected him, left alone and isolated, and then they took him away from me.
“My child, my little love, defenceless, trusting and nothing but loving, was killed.
“His short life stolen and the hole left in me and those who loved Arthur will never be repaired.
“Sleep well, my angel – you are truly loved.”
The statement went on: “He giggled his usual giggle. I will never again hear that giggle or hear him say ‘I love you mommy bear’.
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“He will never get his drumstick squashies. I will never get to see the smile behind his eyes. Never get to remind him how beautiful he was and how much he was loved.
“Life as I know it will never exist again. Losing Arthur is unquantifiable. I don’t think I will ever be able to live a full life again. Grief isn’t the right word. How I feel about losing baby bear Arthur. I feel hollow.
“Every day I feel like I’m walking around with all the lights turned off.”
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