Evil stepmother Emma Tustin ‘poisoned with salt’ in jail in revenge for killing Arthur, 6

6 December 2021, 10:40 | Updated: 6 December 2021, 16:35

Grandmother of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes pays tribute to him

Killer stepmother Emma Tustin has been poisoned with salt in prison in revenge for torturing tragic Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, 6, it has been claimed.

A former cellmate of Tustin claimed inmates laced her meals with salt after discovering the horrific abuse she inflicted on Arthur.

He was poisoned by sick Tustin and medics found levels of salt in his system so high they thought their equipment was broken.

In the hours before he was fatally attacked, he had been fed at least 34g of salt.

Read more: Tustin and Hughes 'must never see light of day', says Arthur Labinjo-Hughes grandfather

Tustin’s former cellmate Elaine Pritchard told the Sunday Mirror “some of the things we did were cruel - but she was crueller to Arthur so she deserved it.”

Grandmother of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes reads statement on behalf of his mother after convictions

"One day she came back from a plea hearing and was upset, so I asked, ‘What’s wrong?” Ms Pritchard said.

“She said, ‘He didn’t look at me, Tom never looked at me’. That was the only time I saw her upset about anything.”

During the trial, the court heard Tustin had tried to take an overdose and attempted to hang herself to avoid facing punishment for murdering tragic Arthur.

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

Nadhim Zahawi is due to make a Commons statement on the case on Monday.

Arthur's grandmother Madeleine Halcrow was among a large crowd of people who on Sunday afternoon gathered outside the house in Cranmore Road, Solihull, where the six-year-old was killed, to pay tribute.

She could be seen wiping away tears at the vigil while wearing a T-shirt bearing his face.

The crowd lined the road before letting go of balloons, some bearing messages, and applauding.

Residents, some with tears in their eyes, could be heard saying "bye Arthur" and "fly high always".

They then formed a line outside the house before balloons, posters and flowers were placed around the property.

It comes as the Government announced a major review to determine what improvements are needed by the agencies that came into contact with Arthur in the months before he was murdered.

The National Child Safeguarding Practice Review Panel will lead the review and will provide additional support to Solihull Children's Safeguarding Partnership to "upgrade" the already existing local review which was launched shortly after Arthur's death in June 2020.

It emerged in court the boy had been seen by social workers just two months before his death, but they concluded there were "no safeguarding concerns".