Photo: West Midlands Police / Family handout
She poisoned the child, so they poisoned her.
By Isaac Serna-Diez — Written on Dec 14, 2021
A woman jailed for poisoning her stepson has been placed in solitary confinement after experiencing some serious karma when her inmates poisoned her in revenge for her crimes.
According to reports, police fear Emma Tustin is a target for other prisoners who may try to injure or kill her.
“Every effort is being made to protect her from attack. Like it or not, prison officers have a duty to keep order and the rule of law inside," a source says.
“In her case, they’re gritting their teeth to do it but she’s a massive target. It’s only a matter of time before someone takes a chance to do her in.”
Tustin's 6-year-old stepson, Arthur Labinjo-Hughes died on June 16th, 2020, after consuming six-and-a-half teaspoons of salt, being shaken and having his head slammed against a hard surface.
His stepmother, Tustin, and father, Thomas Hughes, tried to cover up his death as well as years of torture and abuse by isolating him from loved ones and coming up with excuses for his many injuries.
Tustin and Hughes were tried for their crimes and were found guilty — Tustin was given a life sentence with a minimum of 29 years and Hughes a minimum sentence of 21 years.
Emma Tustin was poisoned with salt by cellmates as revenge for the death of Arthur.
As Tustin serves her sentence and is imprisoned for her crimes, she allegedly lied to inmates about why she was serving time in the first place, blaming her husband for abusing his son and failing to mention the torture she submitted Arthur to.
Elaine Pritchard, Tustin’s former cellmate, said that Tustin never mentioned Arthur once.
"Emma hadn’t said anything about Arthur dying. She never mentioned him," she told the Sunday Mirror.
She said that the 32-year-old only "felt sorry for herself" but would "laugh and joke" on the phone while she was facing trial for Arthur’s death.
Once inmates found out about Tustin’s deeds, however, they allegedly started lacing her food with salt to give her treatment similar to the one she gave Arthur.
“Some of the things we did were cruel — but she was crueler to Arthur so she deserved it,” Pritchard said.
She recalled the argument she had with Tustin when she found out that she had abused and tortured her son, asking her how she hadn’t noticed the over 130 bruises on her son’s body when should give him a bath.
“She said she just used to give him a towel,“ Pritchard said. “I pressed the bell and said if the prison officers didn’t get her out then I’d be staying there a long time.”
Tustin’s room was switched but she’s still serving time for Arthur’s death and torture.
Emma Tustin and Thomas Hughes tortured Arthur when he was in their care.
Arthur lived a very short and troubled life. After his second birthday, his mother Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow split with Hughes and was forced to live with her until 2019 when she was arrested for killing her abusive partner.
He was then placed under the care of his father, Hughes, 29 and Tustin, who met Hughes on an online dating site.
When the UK went into lockdown as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, Tustin and Hughes decided to merge their families at Tustin’s home on Cranmore Road in Solihull, where she lived with her own children, aged four and five.
Despite receiving a tip from concerned grandmother, Joanne Hughes, and an anonymous tip from Tustin’s own parents, police and social services who visited Arthur's home left with the belief that nothing was wrong and the many bruises that were spread out across Arthur’s body were just a result of his playing.
CCTV that was set up around the house gave authorities a clue into Arthur’s abuse even though it was too late.
Arthur would spend up to 14 hours a day in the same hallway he died in without food, drink, and affection, while he stared at the door and often cried.
Salt poisoning was a regular form of torture for Arthur, and as his body deteriorated over time would be punished further if he tried to move or sit down in the hallway.
Tustin would record hundreds of clips of Arthur suffering, including two particularly harrowing recordings where Arthur is heard begging in tears, "I want you to feed me, no one's going to feed me" and crying "no one loves me.”
She would send these recordings to Hughes, who would encourage her to harm his son. "Just end him," one message read. "I'll sort him out when I'm home," said another.
These led to Arthur’s death, and by the time he died experts said the extent of Arthur's injuries met the medical definition of child torture. His tiny body bore more than 130 bruises.
Isaac Serna-Diez is a writer who focuses on entertainment and news, social justice, and politics. Follow him on Twitter here.