These heartbreaking photos show a smiling Arthur Labinjo-Hughes with his biological mother - months before the youngster was tortured, beaten and murdered by his evil stepmother.
Pictures show the happy, bubbly youngster beaming as he enjoys time with Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow, 29.
In one image he is seen wearing a Superman t-shirt, and in another little Arthur looks delighted as he strolls along a pavement with a Build-a-Bear teddy in a bag slung over his shoulders.
The pictures are in heartbreaking contrast to the emaciated, pain-stricken six-year-old seen in the last footage of him alive before he was murdered by his evil stepmother, Emma Tustin.
The last images of Arthur alive, recorded on chilling CCTV hours before he was killed, show the rake-thin little boy unable to stand or walk, weeping 'no one loves me', and 'no one's going to feed me.'
It followed months of 'unimaginable suffering' at the hands of the sadistic 32-year-old and the boy's father, Thomas Hughes, 29.
Arthur was pushed into his father's custody in February 2019 after Labinjo-Halcrow killed her partner Gary Cunningham, 29, by stabbing him 12 times with a kitchen knife in a drunken rage.
Pictures show the youngster beaming as he enjoys time with his natural mother, Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow, 29. In one image he is seen holding a marshmallow on a stick, while in another he strolls along a pavement with a stuffed toy in a bag slung over his shoulders
The pictures offer a stark contrast to the emaciated, pain-stricken six-year-old seen in the last footage of him alive before he was murdered by his evil stepmother, Emma Tustin
Hughes met mother-of-four Tustin on Plenty Of Fish and the couple moved with Arthur into her home near Solihull in the West Midlands when the government declared a nationwide lockdown in March 2020.
Today, Labinjo-Halcrow spoke of her torment at his death. Her statement was delivered by her mother, Madeleine Halcrow, who regularly paused after bursting into tears.
'He was just a child, he had no-one to talk to, no one to ask for help when he was scared and needed protecting the most,' said Ms Labinjo-Halcrow, who is serving 11 years in prison for killing her partner.
'My son's bright blue, effervescent eyes lost their sparkle and they weren't smiling anymore. They took his sparkle and his naivety from him and then they took him from this world.
'A child, my child, my little love defenceless, trusting and nothing but loving was killed. His short life was stolen - he will never see another Christmas, another birthday.'
Recalling the last time she spoke to Arthur, she added: 'It was the most excited I had ever heard him. He knew he was going to see me soon. He asked how many packets of drumstick squashies I had saved him. I told him he could have as many packets as he wanted as long as he ate his sausage, mash and peas first.
'He giggled his usual mischievous giggle and said 'OK mum, I promise'.
'He never got his Drumstick
