The father of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and his girlfriend were on Friday jailed for the torture and killing of the six-year-old.
Emma Tustin was sentenced to life with a minimum of 29 years at Coventry Crown Court after being found guilty of murdering the boy on Thursday.
The 32-year-old’s parents, Arthur’s father, Thomas Hughes, 29, was sentenced to 21 years in prison after being convicted of manslaughter.
The pair were also convicted of child cruelty charges at the Coventry Crown Court.
Arthur, who was Arthur was living with his father and Tustin in Solihull, West Midlands, after his mother was jailed for murder, died of a head injury in June 2020 while in the care of his stepmother.
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Following the couple’s conviction, Arthur’s mother, Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow, described her son as “the light of my life” and “best friend.”
In a statement from her prison cell she wrote: “The details of Arthur’s case are harrowing and incomparable.
“From the moment Arthur was born he filled my life with joy. He was always smiling and had the most inquisitive little mind.
“Arthur was the light of my life. He wasn’t just my only child, he was my best friend.
“Never did I imagine he would be taken from this world so early in his life.
“If Arthur could ask for one final thing it would be that he is remembered for his superpower.
“That will always be what I remember him for. Arthur’s superpower was his smile.”
During the trial, distressing audio was played of Arthur crying saying, “nobody loves me” and and “no-one is going to feed me”, along with footage showing the final hours of the youngster’s life.
CCTV video, from the morning of June 16, showed him struggling to carry a duvet after being forced to sleep in the living room for the fifth day in a row.
The schoolboy was killed as a result of having his head banged “repeatedly against a hard surface” at the hands of Tustin, the court was told, and died on June 17.
A court heard Arthur had endured a campaign of cruelty that amounted to the “medical definition of child torture”.
This included being deprived of food, made to stand for 14 hours a day, and poisoned with salt.
Jurors were told how Tustin would send Hughes voice notes of Arthur crying whenever he left the house.
Hughes would reply with messages such as “dig Arthur’s grave”, “I’ll take his neck off”, and the “kid is getting it when I get back”.
He also sent texts saying that he would take his “c*”ting jaw off his shoulders” and told his partner “put him out with the rubbish”.
Hughes admitted he would also use “pressure points on Arthur’s neck to discipline him” after seeing videos about police brutality in the US online. He said he would use these pressure points for “about 10 to 15 seconds”.
