A woman accused of murdering her six-year-old stepson sounded like she was 'trying to make excuses' after his sudden collapse, a court heard. 

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was allegedly killed after enduring a

A woman accused of murdering her six-year-old stepson sounded like she was 'trying to make excuses' after his sudden collapse, a court heard. 

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was allegedly killed after enduring a 'campaign of cruelty' at the hands of his father Thomas Hughes, 29, and stepmother Emma Tustin, 32.   

Tustin and Hughes are said to have subjected the child to systematic abuse 'designed to terrorise' the youngster.

Arthur was allegedly deprived of food, made to stand in a hallway for 14 hours a day and poisoned with salt before being fatally attacked at his home near Solihull, West Midlands, in June last year.

Prosecutors claim the schoolboy died from 'unsurvivable brain injuries' a day after being allegedly attacked by Tustin. The boy's father and stepmother deny murder and multiple counts of child cruelty.  

A jury heard evidence from a neighbour who rushed to give first aid to Arthur after he collapsed on June 16 last year. 

Nurse Carol Miller told Coventry Crown Court how Tustin ran to her house to tell her: 'He's knocked himself clean out'.

Mrs Miller described herself as being 'absolutely distraught' at seeing the six-year-old unresponsive but said of Tustin: 'Not once did she ask how Arthur was.'

She added: 'She [Tustin] was quite erratic - what sounded to me like trying to make excuses. It was just constant - her mouth was just going.'

Arthur Labinjo-Hughes (pictured above with his father), six, was found with dozens of bruises from his head to his feet, post-mortem examinations showed 

The boy was systematically abused by Thomas Hughes, 29, and his 32-year-old partner Emma Tustin (pictured above), it is alleged, before being killed in June last year

Prosecutors allege the youngster was subjected to months of cruelty by Hughes and Tustin, which matched the 'medical definition of child torture'.

In a 999 call made 12 minutes after Arthur was found unresponsive, Tustin claimed his head injuries were self-inflicted. She claimed he had 'banged his head while on the floor on all fours'.

Mrs Miller said she tried to find Arthur's pulse as emergency crews raced to the scene. She said the boy was 'pale' with a 'massive blue bruise' on his forehead.

Recalling her conversations with Tustin, Mrs Miller told the court: 'She said something about his behaviour; that they had been having problems.

'I said ''have you sought any help?''. She said she had spoken to the school but the school didn't see any issues with his behaviour.

'She was saying things like ''he's nutted me, he's tried to push me down the stairs, he hates me, he tells me I'm not his mum''.' 

Prosecutors claim that Tustin murdered the youngster and that Hughes 'intentionally encouraged' the killing.

The court heard how Arthur spent more than 14 hours a day 'segregated and isolated' in a hallway and was made to sleep on a living room floor 

Jurors were previously told how Arthur (pictured) was 'repeatedly poisoned with salt-contaminated food and fluids' in 'brutal controlling circumstances'

Police bodycam footage captured Hughes telling officers how he had returned from the shops - where he had bought Tustin a cake for her birthday - to find Arthur unresponsive.

He said: 'I went to Sainsbury's to get a cake, it's my partner's birthday tomorrow. As I was coming back she phoned and said 'you need to come back because he's bumped his head and knocked himself out - thrown himself on the concrete floor'.'

Jurors were previously told the child was 'repeatedly poisoned with salt-contaminated food and fluids' in 'brutal controlling circumstances'.

Upon arrival at hospital, his salt level was so high that one consultant said she questioned whether her machine had broken.

The court heard how Arthur spent more than 14 hours 'segregated and isolated' in a hallway and was made to sleep on a living room floor. Jurors heard text messages between Hughes and Tustin detailing alleged abuse.

In one message, Hughes threatened to 'take his jaw off his shoulders' and told Tustin: 'Just gag him or something. Tie some rope around his mouth with a sock in it or something.'

The court heard how one witness claimed Arthur was 'too weak' to even hold a glass of water to his mouth.

They also said his 'clothes looked dirty, his lips cracked, he could barely open his mouth to speak, his hair was dirty, his nails were dirty and he looked malnourished, gaunt and worn-out.'

Earlier in the trial, a medical expert said he believed Arthur was shaken and slammed with 'very severe' force.

Consultant neuropathologist Daniel Du Plessis told the jury: 'What happened here was forceful gripping, a shaking-type act and the head being slammed once or more than once against a firm surface and I think an average woman could do that, physically at least.'

The schoolboy died from 'unsurvivable brain injuries' a day after being allegedly attacked by Tustin at her home near Solihull, West Midlands

But Dr Du Plessis, a brain scan expert, said that the chances of Arthur causing himself fatal head injuries were 'inconceivable'.

Opening the trial, Jonas Hankin, QC, told jurors: 'Both defendants participated in a campaign of cruelty intended to cause Arthur significant harm and suffering.

'Violence and intimidation, both physical and verbal, were routine.

'Arthur's visible injuries, his miserable physical condition and obvious despair provided each defendant with a daily reminder of the lengths to which the other would go to cause him harm.'

While Arthur was critically ill in hospital, Tustin sent a text message to a woman she had arranged to purchase balloons from for her birthday. 

Jonas Hankin, QC, prosecuting, told how she messaged the 'balloon lady', telling her: 'Sorry lovely not going to be able to collect'. 

Under police observation at her home, Tustin then sent a WhatsApp message to Hughes, who was at Birmingham Children's Hospital, asking: 'How come you haven't messaged me?'

She continued: 'Don't say this is me they are waiting for an update about what's happening. I can't have a shower or f*** all. 

'Sat here being watched. Haven't done f*** all.' 

In a further message, Tustin added: 'Don't worry about it. I will sit here and deal with the consequences of something he's done. Could get arrested for something I haven't done.'  

The trial continues.