The mother of a defenceless six-year-old boy who was killed by his step-mother and father has paid tribute to her 'beautiful boy with a superpower smile'.
Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow, 27, said details of her son Arthur's abuse and death at the hands of his father and his ex-girlfriend were 'harrowing and incomparable'.
Arthur, who loved reading, playing football and dressing up as superheroes, died from head injuries after enduring months of torture at the hands of Thomas Hughes and Emma Tustin.
Tustin, 32, killed Arthur by repeatedly slamming his head on a hard surface after she and 29-year-old Hughes starved the youngster and force-fed him food laden with salt.
The mother of Arthur Labinjo-Halcrow said in a tribute shared after the trial that the six-year-old loved reading, football and dressing up as superheroes and he had a 'superpower smile'
Arthur's mother Olivia, who is currently in prison, described her son's murder as 'harrowing'
Pictured: Arthur, pictured here in his Spiderman hat, loved dressing up as superheroes
Today Tustin was convicted of murdering Arthur on June 17, 2020, during the Covid lockdown.
Hughes was also found guilty of manslaughter - but cleared of murder - for encouraging the killing, including by sending a text message to Tustin 18 hours before the fatal assault telling her 'just end him'.
They were both convicted of numerous counts of child cruelty. Following the verdicts, the judge ordered a minute's silence for Arthur at the request of the jury.
Speaking after the trial, Arthur's grandmother Madeleine Halcrow read a tribute on behalf of her daughter Olivia Labinjo Hughes, who is Arthur's biological mother.
She is currently serving a 11-year sentence for killing her partner Gary Cunningham in 2019.
Arthur's biological mother, Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow, 29, (left) killed partner Gary Cunningham (right) by stabbing him 12 times with a kitchen knife in a drunken rage in February 2019
Arthur's mother Olivia said he loved Birmingham City and could name all the England players
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes with father Thomas Hughes and Thomas' partner Emma Tustin. Tustin has been convicted of murder and Hughes is guilty of manslaughter after a harrowing trial
She said: 'Following the conclusion of my son's trial I want to take his opportunity to focus on the life Arthur lived and to celebrate the beautiful little boy I knew and loved deeply.
'The details of Arthur's case are harrowing and incomparable but I want people to know who Arthur was, from his huge smile and his personality to his gentle and caring nature.
'All mothers are biased and believe their children are the best and I'm no different. From the moment Arthur was born he was always smiling and had the most inquisitive little mind.
'When I think about Arthur's life and what he loved there are always three things that I always thing about.
'Firstly, he loved to read or to be read to and any of the Julia Donaldson books were his favourite. He liked the Gruffalo and the Snail and the Whale.
'When he started school his love of reading became a love of learning how to write new words.
