TRAGIC Arthur Labinjo-Hughes was only sent to live with his killer dad and stepmum after his own mother was jailed for knifing her lover to death.
Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow stabbed Gary Cunningham, 29, 12 times in a drink and drug-fuelled rage at their home in February 2019.
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Arthur's mum Olivia Labinjo-Halcrow stabbed her boyfriend to death Credit: BPM 5
He was sent to live with his dad Thomas Hughes full-time
She was seen by police calmly stepping over his blood-stained body while claiming she had no memory of the attack.
Labinjo-Halcrow was jailed for 18 years after being convicted of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
Her original conviction was quashed but she was found guilty for a second time in July this year and handed an 11-year sentence.
After she was caged, Arthur was placed in the care of his dad Thomas Hughes.
He was today found guilty of killing the youngster, while his partner Emma Tustin was convicted of murder.
Arthur was "cherished by all" to start with while living with his dad and family in an annexe at his paternal grandparents' home.
But the "stable" life he briefly enjoyed became rooted in evil once more when Hughes began a relationship with Emma Tustin.
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The violence he had witnessed while living with his mum was now aimed at him as the couple waged a campaign of abuse and torture that ended in his brutal death.
Hughes and Labinjo-Halcrow had shared custody of Arthur while in a relationship with Gary.
On February 23, 2019, police rushed to the home to find Gary propped up against a fire exit and Labinjo-Halcrow holding a blood-stained kitchen knife.
A post mortem found he had been stabbed multiple times with one 11cm-deep wound severing an artery.
It later emerged the pair had a volatile relationship after meeting on a drink-driving awareness course.
His family witnessed injuries caused by Labinjo-Hughes attacking him and urged him to speak to police.
She claimed during her trial she had been the victim of sexual abuse at the hands of her victim.
It was these statements that overturned her first conviction after top judges ruled she may have been acting in self defence.
But she was convicted again this year after a retrial and jailed for 11 years.
The mum paid tribute to Arthur today in a statement from her prison cell after Hughes and Tustin were convicted of killing the boy.
She said: "Arthur was the light of my life. He wasn't just my only child - he was my best friend.
"Never did I imagine he would be taken from this world so early in his life.
"If Arthur could ask for one last thing, it would be that he was remembered for his superpower. That will always be what I remember and Arthur's superpower was his smile."
Her mother Madeleine Halcrow added: "I think they are cold, calculating, systematic torturers of a defenceless little boy.
"They're wicked, evil. There's no word for them, especially your own child."
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Gary Cunningham was stabbed 12 times Credit: PA:Press Association 5
He was found dying outside Labinjo-Halcrow's flat Credit: SWNS 5
Arthur was killed after a campaign of torture
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes, 6, struggles to stand and cries 'no one's going to feed me’ before dad and stepmum ‘tortured him to death’