Hundreds of people have gathered this afternoon to pay tribute to little Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and ‘show how much he was loved’.
A vigil was held in honour of the tragic youngster in his hometown of Solihull, organised by residents of Canmore Road where he was killed by his ‘evil’ stepmum.
His death shocked the country and the ‘lenient’ sentences handed to Emma Tustin and his dad Thomas Hughes, who ‘chillingly’ encouraged her, are to be reviewed by the Attorney General.
And today locals have turned out in force to pay respects to the little boy, who was tortured, starved and beaten in the final months of his short life.
The mood in the West Midlands town was sombre as large crowd gathered to release balloons in his memory, BirminghamLive reports.
Organiser Kerry Vines said she was 'overwhelmed' with the response from the community, adding: "It's about showing Arthur that we are all thinking of him, and he was a very loved little boy.
"It will also be a celebration of his life. He finally got the justice he deserved."
Tustin, 32, was found guilty of murdering Arthur while the boy's father, Thomas Hughes, was convicted of manslaughter and child cruelty. The pair were "not liked" by their neighbours, Kerry said.
Hundreds of locals lined the streets in complete silence as cars blocked the street off to keep the vigil uninterrupted. A round of applause broke out as the balloons were released.
To keep up to date with all the latest news stories, make sure you sign up to one of our newsletters here.
A raffle has taken place to raise money for Arthur's family. While the balloon release took place away from the house where Arthur spent his final week, some are still congregating there in silence to pay their respects to him.
Emma Tustin, 32, was convicted on Thursday of murdering the defenceless boy who had been subjected to a campaign of “evil” abuse.
Tustin carried out the fatal assault while in the sole care of Arthur at her home by violently shaking him and repeatedly banging his head, likely against the hallway wall, a court heard.
Mum-of-two Gee Kang, who turned up to pay respects to Arthur, said: “It's absolutely shocking an individual, a parent can put their child through this.”
It comes after Arthur’s uncle Daniel Hughes, brother of Thomas Hughes, shared a short video clip to Twitter of the lad sharing his dream of playing football when he grew up.
Daniel said: "Remember him like this please".
Arthur’s image appeared on a big screen yesterday as football clubs honoured the little Birmingham City fan.
Source: Read Full Article
