Welcome everyone! Welcome to a new episode of Love and Murder – the weekly true crime podcast discussing relationships gone terribly wrong. Where our motto is [you’re either someone’s last love or first murder]

I am your host Ky and our show discusses true crime cases told in the form of a story with mystery and suspense.

In today’s episode, we’re talking about a case a once-promising young woman who hit rock bottom after losing everything to alcohol addiction… from killing her partner to losing her own son, this is the story of Olivia Labinjo Halcrow. But its not what you think. Join us for a twisted tale of Love and Murder.

 

But first, I wanted to remind you to head on over to our exclusive group at patreon.com/loveandmurder. Our next bonus episode is the case of Charles Starkweather a serial killer who author Stephen King was inspired by. You don’t want to miss it. www.patreon.com/loveandmurder We’ll discuss more about our patreon at the end of the show in the meantime – 

Let’s get into today’s case.

Introduction

The daughter of Peter and Madeleine Halcrow, Olivia Labinjo Halcrow was born in the UK, in 1993. 

Her mother, Madeleine Halcrow, was a retired nurse who had a successful career managing two Cardiac Catheter Labs and worked at Coronoray Care and Day Case Unit. 

Olivia had always been a bright, intelligent student. 

She served her time in the British Army’s volunteer unit called the Territorial Army, which serves about one-third of the British Army. It’s more like a militia that was formed during war times, and the volunteers typically have full-time careers. They are trained and called upon during emergencies. So basically, for us US folks – it’s like the National Guard or Reserves. Olivia was a lance corporal of the T.A. 

Enrolling in the University of Nottingham, Olivia pursued economics, politics, and philosophy, so she clearly had some plans for her life. 

An excellent debater, this girl had her whole life ahead of her, with numerous career prospects. 

This is when she met Thomas Hughes on Facebook. The two dated for some time. With a bright future ahead of her, Olivia decided to put it on pause when she discovered she was pregnant in her final year of University. The two moved to West Midlands to raise the baby.
But it would be unfair to say that was the only reason she dropped out. Olivia was struggling with mental health issues and had become addicted to drugs, with a huge dependency on alcohol. As the once-promising young girl began to crumble, Thomas stood by her side as a true source of support.

As time went on, Olivia’s alcohol use got worse and her mental health deteriorated. She spiraled and found herself in AA. There she met a man named Gary Cunningham, a delivery driver who had the same alcohol addiction as her. After some time, they began a sexual relationship – with Olivia being unfaithful to Thomas. 

On 4th January, 2014, she gave birth to little Arthur Labinjo Hughes. She called him the light of her life. While Olivia struggled with alcohol addiction, she loved Arthur and was a doting mother. 

Arthur was a typically pleasant child and was increasingly attached to his grandmother, Madeleine Halcrow. She called him her, “sunny delight” because he was such an infectiously happy, sweet child. He loved superheroes, and football, and he had a great sense of humor. His wonderful smile would just light up a room. 

 

Downfall

Sadly, Arthur saw a lot of violence. His parents’ fight would almost always get physical, and Olivia’s addiction seemed to get the better of her. On one occasion, he hid under covers for almost an hour while his parents fought. 

When Arthur was a year old, Thomas found out about Olivia’s cheating, which led to a huge fight and ultimately the end of their relationship. Court granted shared custody to both parents as Olivia and Arthur relocated to Birmingham and settled in an apartment on Frensham Way, Harborne along with Gary. Gary had a child from a previous relationship that didn’t live with him. In 2013, he faced charges of battery against the mother of his child;  which prompted him to change his life and join AA groups. 

Gary and Olivia’s relationship was volatile. The good times were great, but the bad times were horrible. Olivia’s father, Peter, became increasingly concerned as he saw the downfall of this new relationship. It seemed like they were both headed down a destructive path. 

Similarly, Gary’s sister, Katie Brown, was worried about her brother. He seemed withdrawn, not the funny and outgoing brother she knew.

 

Fights

In the very beginning of the relationship, Gary once called Olivia from Katie’s phone, which she ended up missing the call. Olivia called back and heard Katie’s voice, and just went up in a ball of fire, furious, not even listening to what Katie had to say. Katie quickly realized that someone so possessive at such an early stage in a relationship could be potentially problematic. With the passage of time, she felt Olivia grew more and more dominant, her temper mixed with alcohol, and Gary’s booze-driven outbursts equally out of control. Olivia got pregnant with his child but before he found out, she ended up going for an abortion. I mean it was her decision but she didn’t even bother telling Gary. Maybe he wanted to be a dad again you know?

 

 Katie would notice bruises on his legs which he laughed off as rough-sex. But then the scratches on his face and arms at times looked really bad; Katie only looked the other way because she knew Gary was violent towards Olivia too. 

Katie would always start with, “You better not be hitting her!” whenever she’d see scratches on his face, given his physical assault history with his ex. Gary always said he was simply defending himself. 

 

Katie was a protective big sister, and in November 2018 she almost reported the two when Gary showed up at her house in the middle of the night, bleeding profusely from a stab wound in the arm. 

 

When Katie told him to report it, he simply said, “Oh I’m never going back there, Katie.” 

Another incident happened in front of Gary’s mother, when he swore at Olivia and she sprayed his face with an aerosol deodorant, telling him not to speak to her that way again. 

The two were extremely abusive to each other, and the breaking point came when Gary found out Olivia was cheating on him with another man.

They broke up that November and he moved on, dating someone else. 

Katie was happy for him. But in the following February, they surprised everyone by getting back together. 

Gary expressed suicidal thoughts to Katie, and she was a little worried but never took it seriously. She couldn’t imagine her happy brother killing himself like that.

 

Events of that fateful day

On 23rd February, 2019, a delivery driver was walking into the Frensham Way apartments when he noticed a huge pool of blood. As he came closer, he saw a limp body, propped up against a fire exit of one of the apartments. The injured man was unconscious. He quickly called for an ambulance.

It was Gary Cunningham. He had been stabbed multiple times in the calf, and was losing blood from an artery. 

By the time police and ambulances arrived it was too late. At 29 years old, Gary was dead. 

Police knocked on doors, trying to gather as much information as they could. Someone had heard a man shouting in the hallway, and then silence so they didn’t think much of it, but it was possible that was Gary. 

Officers found a dazed Olivia, stepping over Gary’s body, expressionless, saying her boyfriend had been unstable and that he had killed himself. 

No matter how suicidal he was; they were clearly not self-inflicted wounds. 

Olivia insisted that he was not in the right state of mind for a long time now.

Needless to say, the events of February 23rd 2019 came as a huge shock to Gary’s family. But Katie almost anticipated it. 

Katie’s first question, when she found out about Gary’s death, was whether he had taken his own life, or Olivia was responsible for it. I guess she called it; deep down she knew what this relationship was headed for. 

Investigations and eye-witnesses ultimately uncovered the truth; Gary and Olivia had been fighting. Police recovered a pink-handled kitchen knife from the apartment with Gary’s blood all over it. 

Olivia had stabbed him once in the chest, and then in the calf. The 11 cm deep cut had taken his life. This entire altercation took place while five-year-old Arthur was in the apartment. The little boy was so afraid, he had no idea what was going on, or why the police were taking away his mother. Olivia tried claiming she had no memory of the attack. 

Arthur 

Understandably, little Arthur developed serious anxiety issues as he was afraid of losing his father like he had lost his mother. 

February 2019 was also when he started school. Starting school itself is a big change for kids; transitioning from the comfort of home to spending hours with unfamiliar faces. It can shape their entire personalities for the future you know?

In July 2019, a doctor diagnosed the 5-year-old with anxiety, which is understandable given his circumstances. 

In the meantime, Thomas met 32-year-old Emma Tustin on a dating website called, “Plenty of fish.” It’s like Tinder, you know. 

Anyway, obviously having a child was a little problematic when it came to a new relationship. But people make it work! Plus Emma had four kids of her own. They were taken away from her following a failed suicide attempt in 2013, when Emma jumped off a 6-story garage, breaking multiple bones. She was deemed mentally unstable to look after a child. Two of her children were sent to live with their fathers…

But Emma never disclosed any of this. Thomas had no idea about her mental state. She met Arthur for the very first time in a park, and they all played cricket together. 

While on the surface it looked like they were all friends…

Emma was increasingly uncomfortable with Arthur. She felt he didn’t like her, and that Thomas couldn’t be “all” hers until Arthur was out of the picture. She also feared Thomas would go back to Olivia. 

 

Meanwhile, Olivia claimed she had been physically assaulted and even raped by Gary, and was driven to stab him in self-defense. 

But dismissing her claims, she was sentenced on 10th September 2019, in the Crown Court of Birmingham and found guilty of manslaughter. The leniency was because of alcohol-related mental health issues. She was given 18 years behind bars. 

It was like a light just went out. At 26 years old, Olivia had lost too much to her addiction by that point, and lost custody of her “teddy-bear” Arthur. Thomas Hughes, 29 at the time, was given full custody of his son. 

Arthur was developing a personality by now, as kids do. His favorite book was the Gruffalo, and he loved joking around. Around the time Arthur’s dad met Emma, he had just returned to school after his summer vacations, and teachers were immediately concerned. 

Initially, Thomas told the boy his mother had joined the army. But someone from school told him his mom was in prison, and social services advised that he be told the truth, to avoid mistrust and confusion. 

Once he had that information, Arthur’s behavior changed at school at home, Thomas felt he was “acting up” but I mean, anyone would, going through something so big in life. His mom was gone, his dad was seeing another woman. The little guy was obviously stressed out. 

 

Unloved 

Blake Hughes, Arthur’s uncle, was very close to him. The two shared a special bond. Arthur completely trusted him and told him everything. Blake was a little concerned when Arthur complained that his dad was getting too strict at home. But he was really alarmed when Arthur said his dad called him ugly and pushed his head into a wall. There was also an incident when he got Arthur a Subway Sandwich and Emma threw a tantrum about how it was an unnecessary treat. 

By October of that year, teachers noticed a visible change. Arthur hardly smiled and wasn’t the same happy-go-lucky boy they’d met in February. The only changes since then were the fact that he came to terms with his mom being in prison and his father’s new girlfriend.  

Emma began to spend the weekends at Thomas’s house, spent Tuesday nights together, and they frequented a place called Wacky Warehouse on Wednesdays with Arthur and Emma’s two youngest children for a playdate.

But in October, Thomas told his mother, Joanna Hughes, that Arthur wasn’t okay with Emma, he was very rude to her. 

At school, Arthur suddenly became a different child altogether. 

What they didn’t know was, Arthur was forbidden to see his grandmother, Madeleine Halcrow.  She was his comfort zone, she had been the only rock in her life since everything had changed. Madeleine never did understand why this happened. 

 

On 21st October, Madeliene’s birthday, Arthur spent the day with her. Nothing unusual had taken place during the party either. But when Thomas came to pick him up, Arthur grew visibly upset. He asked his father, “Is she in the car?” When Thomas said yes, Arthur started sobbing and asked his Grandmother if he could stay with her. She comforted him, telling him he would visit his mom next week, and that helped him settle down enough to be on his way home. 

But just two days later, on 23rd October, Thomas texted her announcing that she wasn’t allowed to see Arthur anymore and that Olivia’s letters wouldn’t be given to him or read to him either. 

In November 2019, Thomas told the school he felt his son needed help, and that he was behaving differently. He met the teachers with his mother, Joanna, to discuss Arthur’s behavior.

 

Teachers, especially the school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator Aileen Carabine, reported Arthur was terrified of his dad abandoning him, or being taken away as his mother had. Oddly, the boy had expressed fears that his dad might kill him. Arthur was a little too obsessed with guns, death, and murder… things that a small child should not be exposed to at all.  A referral was made for mental health support, but there was no follow-up on that. 

Meanwhile, Madeliene left presents for her grandson on the porch, hoping he would find them. They never reached him because they were later found wrapped up, stocked away at home. 

Olivia was appealing to the courts to be able to contact Arthur. Unable to speak to him, with her mother also unaware of his situation, Olivia just knew something was terribly wrong. 

That December, the little guy had an outburst at school when during a school play, a baby was taken out of its crib, causing him to cry for his mother. 

Joanna felt Emma and Thomas were not good together, and brought out the worst in one another. That’s when Thomas told her he planned to move in with Emma, which his mother called a “very bad idea.”

On the first day of 2020 (January first) Thomas had a huge fight with his father, Chris Hughes. His father was not okay with the way Arthur was being treated at home. Thomas hit Arthur for being too rude to Emma, and Chris was outraged. 

 The boy was punished in the hallway, face to the wall, and made to stand in a corner. That seems okay in some cultures, but the problem was the duration. Arthur was made to stand in the hallway for extended periods, even hours. Thomas denied it and the fight led to a huge rift in the family. 

 His family felt further alienated when later that same day, they found out from a Facebook post that Arthur had proposed to Emma. Nobody approved! 

 

Alone

Now, Arthur wasn’t allowed to meet his paternal grandparents or even his favorite Uncle Blake. He missed his “nan”, (his mom’s mother, Madeleine.) He was a very lonely little boy. 

January 2020, two days after Arthur’s 6th Birthday, Thomas took him to a doctor complaining he was too clingy and played a little too much with stuffed toys. The doctor obviously told him this was normal behavior! I mean kids play with toys, it’s not unusual. His teachers felt he wasn’t clingy at all. In fact, he was quite independent for a little boy. 

On 4th March, little Arthur broke down in tears at his school, telling his teachers that his dad took away his favorite teddy. The teachers spoke to his father and seriously advised him not to discipline him this way, as it was damaging his personality and he was too young for this. 

Arthur was celebrating Mother’s Day on 22nd March, and offered to fix Emma breakfast. But she refused, saying his behavior was too untowardly because he ripped up her card and photograph. He tried to make it up to his stepmother, but things were tense. He also told them how much he missed his mommy.

The very next day, the first lockdown was announced in the UK, while Arthur was in bed at Emma’s house. Joanna Hughes called Thomas to come home, but he refused. Arthur and Thomas moved into Emma’s home in Solihull to be together in the Covid-19 lockdown. 

On one occasion, Arthur’s father cut up his favorite football into strips. I understand parenting can drive you to do things you normally wouldn’t, but this was just too much. This guy was clearly venting his frustrations out on a helpless child. 

Later that month, Thomas and Arthur visited Kerry Forsyth-Benson who was a Children and Adolescent Mental Health Services practitioner. The good news was, Arthur seemed less aggressive and overall healthy. But he was still worried his dad would abandon him. 

On the 14th of April, Arthur and Emma’s son got into a fight which escalated to the point that Shane Hawkins, Emma’s ex got involved. After a physical altercation, Thomas took Arthur to Joanna’s house and the two stayed the night. 

Arthur got a chance to talk to his uncle Blake and told him Emma often grabbed his head and banged it against the wall. She called him a horrible ugly brat. While changing his clothes, Joanna saw something alarming and tried to convince Thomas not to go back to Emma. 

Arthur’s little body was covered in bruises. 

 

Unfortunately for Arthur, the couple made amends while Arthur stayed over at his paternal grandparents house. When Thomas went to get Arthur on the 16th, Joana insisted he stay with her for a bit, but Thomas refused.

On 16 April, Madeliene Halcrow received a call from Joanna Hughes, asking if she could meet her. The two grandmothers were friends but didn’t meet as often, and this was unusual. Joanna and Chris Hughes told her that Arthur was being beaten, she had seen bruises. Joanna had pictures of his bruising on her phone which she showed Madeliene. 

Madeleine, a nurse, immediately knew it was not accidental bruising. There were faded bruises, new bruises on top of old ones. Madeline told them they had come from an adult-sized hand. 

Madeleine immediately told social services. The Solihull council sent Jayne Kavanagh to meet with them, in a prearranged meeting for 17th April. I feel like this was short-sighted on their part; when someone is saying a child is being abused, you really shouldn’t announce the visit. A surprise visit would have been helpful in this case. 

When Kavanagh asked about the bruises, she was shown a single faint bruise on his back that the couple claimed Arthur got from play-fighting with Emma’s son with boxing gloves. 

Have you guys ever used boxing gloves? They don’t cause bruises! Anyway, the social worker asked Emma’s son and Arthur how safe they felt in their home with zero being the floor and ten being the ceiling. They both enthusiastically pointed at the ceiling. The house was immaculate, and the children seemed happy. She reported no concerns for safety or further follow-up. 

I understand that Covid19 was a busy time for social workers, and there were too many cases of abuse, they were working overtime. But maybe something could have been done to investigate, you know? Kavanagh simply offered an early help programme to help Arthur come to terms with all the violence he saw growing up but Thomas dismissed the idea, saying they didn’t need it. 

The very next day, Arthur’s other uncle, Daniel Hughes spoke to the West Midlands police department in a webchat to report the bruises and even sent pictures to an officer. Shockingly, there was no follow up! The police never called back or investigated this matter. They simply said there was no cause for concern as social services were already involved. 

Daniel was also warned that if he visited the house, he would be arrested as per Thomas’s complaint.

Joanna Hughes was unsettled and two days later, on 20th April she contacted the school, insisting they get social services involved in this matter or at least investigate what was going on. Again, the department assured the school there was nothing wrong. 

By now, it was evident things weren’t okay. Thomas would leave Emma alone with the kids, getting groceries or shopping. At home, he would play video games or just stay on the couch. Emma had severe mental health issues and had a hard time coping with the children as she struggled with her own problems. 

She would put too much salt in Arthur’s food as “punishment” to discipline him so he wouldn’t be rowdy, or if he didn’t finish his food. He would be hit, cursed at, yelled at and made to stand in one place for hours.

Witnessing all this, Emma’s stepfather, John Dutton called social services with an anonymous tip in May 2020, reporting he was in danger. 

And guess what guys? Social services took no action whatsoever. 

The school offered to take Arthur in, in case his dad was having trouble leaving him anywhere or finding a daycare while he went to work. In truth, his teachers were just really worried for him. Thomas declined the offer. 

In this entire duration, Olivia had no contact with her son. She tried her best to be able to talk to him, but given her recent incarceration, she wasn’t taken very seriously. 

The lockdown finally lifted and kids returned to school on 8th June 2020. But Arthur didn’t’ return. The first day, Thomas said he had a headache and would join in a bit. Then over the next few days, he said Arthur had lost too much weight and the dad was concerned he could pass out from weakness. 

About a week later, on June 15th, Emma took  Arthur along with her to get her hair done. Now it was Covid times, so she went to her hairdresser’s house.  Catherine Milhench  was surprised to see Artur, so frail and quiet. His legs were trembling and he had a hard time standing up. Emma told him to face the door, and the child didn’t move for six whole hours. He was all bones and shaking like a leaf. 

Tragedy

The next day, June 16th, they returned to finish Emma’s hair  at Milhench’s house. Thomas and Emma were shouting at the boy, and the hairdresser was just shocked with this outrageous behavior. She said they were shouting at him “like a game of tennis” taking turns berating the skinny 6-year-old. Her partner gave the little guy a glass of water, all sneaky so his dad or step-mom wouldn’t see. The boy was scared into a stony silence and was too afraid to take it. 

Thomas handled him with intense hate, holding him by the scruff of his neck. Arthur seemed to have collapsed in her hallway while the couple maintained that he was “acting out.”

 

When they got home, Thomas stepped out for some errands. Emma texted him around 2:30 pm, saying Arthur had knocked himself out by banging his head on the floor. Thomas got home, and they called 999 around 2:42pm. 

The rest can be found in bodycam footage from the terrible tragedy, but I’ll fill you in. 

The footage showed Emma sobbing and saying Arthur had hit her, and that he had banged his head on the floor a few times. She said she was trying her best but the boy hated her and wanted his mom, and when she tried to prevent him from hurting himself, he headbutted her, kicked her, and hit her. 

 

Paramedics rushed the unconscious boy to Birmingham Children’s hospital, where doctors were shocked to find over 137 bruises on his little body. He suffered severe head trauma, and possible brain-injury. The doctors reported his injuries to the police, which resulted in the arrest of Emma and Thomas on suspicion of causing harm to Arthur.  

Madeleine finally got to see her sunny delight after over seven months… Under grievous circumstances, hooked up to machines in the ICU. That night, at 1 am, the 17th of June, doctors announced that Arthur could not be saved. His life support machine was switched off. 

The six-year-old had been beaten to death. 

Olivia Halcrow was powerless and received devastating news in prison. There was NOTHING she could do, imagine that. 

Emma and Thomas stood trial at Coventry Crown Court. Police uncovered a huge amount of evidence in the form of whatsapp messages and videos. 

The couple had installed a camera in the living room to “keep an eye” on little Arthur, which showed how he was living on a dirty duvet in that living room. He was wearing the same dirty onesie he was dressed in on Friday… he died in that onesie. 

 

UK government to conduct robust review into Arthur Labinjo-Hughes’ death | ITV News

Whatsapp messages included Emma’s inability to cope with the stress of all the kids. On various occasions, Thomas had replied with, “take his jaw off” or stuff like “end him”. 

 

Investigation

There were WhatsApp audios where Arthur is screaming and crying as Emma reported him for his behavior, his “naughtiness”. Emma recorded over 200 voice notes. The vindictive woman had a real agenda against the six-year-old, but it’s surprising how his own dad reacted with violent threats of “I’ll go to town on him” and “put him outside with the rubbish”. 

Emma repeatedly asked Thomas to leave Arthur at his nan’s. 

The nan she was speaking about, Madeleine Halcrow, went on various platforms including BBC, to highlight Arthur’s case, the negligence of Social Services and implore people to recognize and take swift actions at the first signs of abuse. 

When the social worker, Kavanagh visited the house on 17th April, Arthur and his step brother had been told to lie to her about how happy they were, and Arthur was threatened that he’d be taken away from them if he told them anything. The manipulative couple had also given Arthur some pool-time that day, which got him in great spirits. 

The couple cursed at him with the most terrible words, calling him devil child, Hitler, evil, and some really bad words. In one recording, Arthur was crying, “Daddy is going to throw me out the window.”

Arthur was permanently shifted to the living room floor, while Emma’s son and daughter had beds upstairs. Even when they spent nights elsewhere and the beds were free, little Arthur spent his nights on the living room floor. 

Arthur would often call for his nan and his Uncle Blake. In the most heartbreaking recording of Arthur, he woke up on the day he died. He woke up at 8:30 am, too weak to stand up. 

He stood up shakily, trying to lift his duvet. In an audio later released to court, he calls out into the empty silence, saying “Blake, no one loves me. Nobody is going to feed me.” over and over again.

Arthur had passed off from brain injuries he sustained with his head being banged on the floor, and appeared to have been vigorously shaken. 

Emma Tustin was convicted of manslaughter in December 2021, and given a life sentence with a minimum of 29 years. Thomas was only sentenced to 21 years in prison. 

On 29th July, that sentence was increased to 24 years because it appeared to be lenient. 

 

Aftermath

After Arthur’s death, Olivia Halcrow appealed to court for an early release. She was helpless behind bars, unable to do anything for her son, unable to face his killers or look them in the eye and tell them, how they had taken away the light of her life. In a tribute to Arthur she said she wanted to focus on  Arthur’s life and celebrate the beautiful little boy. The details of his case were incomparable but she wanted people to know who Arthur was. 

Oliva had another trial for reducing her sentence but was simply given 11 years behind bars. Some argue her sentencing has been harsher as she was a woman. Men who have been accused of manslaughter have been given 5 to 8 years in jail on average. 

Arthur’s cousin Bernie Dixon set up an organization in his memory, to help abused children. 

During a football match in 2022, Birmingham and Cardiff City stopped their play in the 6th minute to honor little Arthur, as fans sang for him.

Officer Jess Davies of Midlands Police is set to run a half marathon on 7th May 2023 in memory of Arthur Labinjo for the organization. A mother herself, the officer says there have been too many preventable cases of domestic abuse-related deaths. 

Olivia Labinjo continues to serve her sentence in prison. She has dedicated her life to the remembrance of her little Arthur. Madeleine Halcrow has appeared on various talk shows, and news segments in an effort to raise awareness about physical abuse, and to let Arthur’s name live on. 

Conclusion

This was the story of Olivia Labinjo Halcrow guys. Once a promising student, who spiraled because of alcohol addiction. She might be guilty of taking the life of Gary Cunnigham, but its just heartbreaking to know she never got to see her boy again. 

Do you think Arthur would be alive if he were living with his nan? Or maybe if his mom somehow got her life together? 

Olivia stabbing Gary itself is a huge debate. She claimed in court that he was abusive, and even raped her. But on the other hand, she was equally abusive in front of witnesses. 

Losing a child must be soul crushing, even for a murderer. That’s it for today guys.