A boy allegedly murdered in a brutal 'campaign of cruelty' was deliberately poisoned with a 'massive dose' of salt before he collapsed and died, a court heard.
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, six, was subjected to 34 grams of salt as an 'absolute minimum' before suffering fatal head injuries, jurors were told.
It is alleged the youngster was killed by his father and stepmother after suffering systemic abuse which prosecutors say matched the 'medical definition of child torture'.
The youngster was deprived of food, made to stand for 14 hours a day and poisoned with salt before being fatally attacked at his home in June 2020, it is said.
Thomas Hughes, 29, and his partner Emma Tustin, 32, deny murder and multiple counts of child cruelty.
Prosecutors allege Tustin murdered Arthur when they were alone at her council house near Solihull, West Midlands, and that Hughes 'intentionally encouraged' the killing.
A trial today heard that Arthur was found to have the equivalent of six teaspoons of salt in his blood, leading to hospital readings which were 'off the scale'.
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, six, was allegedly killed after suffering systemic abuse which matched the 'medical definition of child torture' a court has been told. His father Thomas Hughes, 29, (pictured with Arthur) and his stepmother Emma Tustin, 32, deny murder and child abuse
Tustin (pictured left) and Hughes are said to have subjected Arthur (right) to systematic cruelty 'designed to torture' the boy, 6. They deny murder and multiple child cruelty charges
Coventry Crown Court was told that analysis of Arthur's blood upon his admission to hospital recorded sodium levels between 180 and 187.2 millimoles per litre (mmol/L).
A normal range of sodium is around 140 mmol/L, jurors were told.
Children's kidney consultant Dr Malcolm Coulthard said the results indicated a 'massive dose' of salt was given to the boy and that poisoning was the only available diagnosis.
He calculated that Arthur must have consumed 34g of salt as an 'absolute minimum' to record a reading of above 180 mmol/L.
Describing the readings as 'off the scale', Dr Coulthard said: 'This result can only be explained by at least some or possibly all of the salt poisoning having been the result of ingesting salt in the hours before he went to hospital.'
He added: '[Arthur] could have been poisoned gradually over a number of hours or days. But he could not have reached a sodium concentration of 184 by that mechanism.
A court heard Arthur (pictured with Hughes) was forced to eat salt before he was killed
A touching note was left among the floral tributes to six-year-old Arthur at his former home
'He could have been poisoned slowly and reached a level of approximately 170 but beyond that it would not be possible because he would have collapsed. He would have been extremely, extremely ill.'
Dr Coulthard revealed that the levels of salt in Arthur's blood were so high that even seven hours after his admission to hospital, his sodium level had not fallen below 183.
He told jurors that Arthur's
