'Coercive' stepmother, 32, who 'murdered' six-year-old in her hallway and 'photographed him dying' told cellmate: 'The little f***er tried to get out of the front door', court hears

 A woman accused of murdering her stepson in a 'campaign of cruelty' allegedly told her cellmate 'the little f**ker tried to get out the front door and I stopped him trying to follow his dad'  a court heard.  

Emma Tustin, who allegedly fatally shook and hit six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, leaving him with an 'unsurvivable' brain injury, made the remarks during a row with the prisoner while awaiting trial.

Prosecutors claim the killing blows were inflicted by Tustin on Arthur - who had been weakened by months of abuse, salt poisoning and starvation - while in the hallway of her home, next to the front door.

Tustin denies murdering Arthur, who jurors previously heard looked 'broken' just a few weeks after he moved into Tustin's home with his father, Thomas Hughes, at the start of the March lockdown last year.

Tustin and Hughes are accused of murder, of poisoning Arthur by forcing him to eat salt-laced meals and of inflicting months of 'cruel' abuse, likened to 'torture' by prosecutors.

The youngster died in hospital on June 17 last year after he was shaken and his head 'banged repeatedly against a hard surface'.

It is alleged that 'coercive' 32-year-old Tustin carried out the fatal assault at her home, before photographing her stepson as he lay dying in the hallway, using her mobile phone.

Jurors heard the prison row was triggered when a fellow prisoner told Tustin she 'didn't believe' her account of how Arthur came to be mortally injured, while alone with his stepmother at home in Solihull on June 16 last year.

In cross-examination, Hughes's barrister Bernard Richmond, QC, put to her: 'Elaine Pritchard was your cellmate and you discussed your case with her on a number of occasions.

+6

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes (pictured above with his father), six, was found with dozens of bruises from his head to his feet, post-mortem examinations showed

+6

Jurors were previously told how Arthur (pictured) was 'repeatedly poisoned with salt-contaminated food and fluids' in 'brutal controlling circumstances'

'You had an argument and there came a stage where you were screaming at each other and she told you she didn't believe you when you told her he banged his head on the floor.

'Then you screamed at her 'the little f***er tried to get out of the front door and I stopped him.'

Tustin admitted making the comment to Pritchard but insisted it was in relation to an earlier event - not the circumstances of Arthur's collapse.   

Earlier, Tustin also claimed a host of medical experts were wrong to conclude the boy suffered fatal injuries that could not have been self-inflicted.

She previously claimed to have heard a 'bang' and a 'loud crack', and suggested the boy may have thrown himself or fallen down the stairs at her home.

When asked about medical evidence that her own legal team have accepted as true, stating that Arthur's injuries could not have been self-inflicted, Tustin said: 'It's not first time medical experts have been wrong, and it won't be the last.

'In this case, it's not murder, murder was not committed.'

She added: 'I didn't shake him, I would never shake a child, just like I would never poison a child, or kill anybody, let alone a child.'

+6

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes (pictured above with his father), six, was found with dozens of bruises from his head to his feet, post-mortem examinations showed 

+6

The court heard how Arthur spent more than 14 hours a day 'segregated and isolated' in a hallway and was made to sleep on a living room floor 

Mr Richmond asked: 'So if Arthur didn't do it to himself... then the only person capable of doing that is you?'

She replied: 'That's not true, because I did not do it.'

Asked to suggest 'any other candidate' for having inflicted the fatal injuries, Tustin replied: 'I was the only one there, nobody else was there.'

Later, she said: 'I didn't push him (Arthur) down the stairs, I didn't bang his head, so whatever has happened, it has been done by his own actions.'

Richmond then asked: 'You're trying to control the story aren't you? You know full well what you've done.'

Tustin replied: 'I haven't done anything.

'I have admitted to what I've done, I'm not willing to admit to something I haven't done.'

Though not present for the alleged fatal assault, 'bullying' Hughes, 29, of Stroud Road, Solihull, is alleged to have aided in the murder, and also faces three counts of child cruelty.

+6

The schoolboy died from 'unsurvivable brain injuries' a day after being allegedly attacked by Tustin at her home near Solihull, West Midlands

Tustin, who has admitted one count of child cruelty but denies two other similar charges and murder, will continue to be cross-examined on Thursday.   

Earlier in the trial, a medical expert said he believed Arthur was shaken and slammed with 'very severe' force.

Consultant neuropathologist Daniel Du Plessis said the chances of Arthur causing himself fatal head injuries were 'inconceivable'.

The jury was previously told Arthur's family raised concerns with social services two months before Arthur's death. But after a home visit no further action was taken.

Opening the trial, Jonas Hankin, QC, told jurors: 'Both defendants participated in a campaign of cruelty intended to cause Arthur significant harm and suffering.

'Violence and intimidation, both physical and verbal, were routine.

'Arthur's visible injuries, his miserable physical condition and obvious despair provided each defendant with a daily reminder of the lengths to which the other would go to cause him harm.' 

Hughes, who is alleged to have 'intentionally encouraged' Arthur's killing, denies murder and four counts of child cruelty.

The trial continues.