A 17-YEAR-OLD BOY who stabbed a 15-year-old girl to death in a street in the UK after stalking her has been convicted of murder. Holly Newton suffered 36 injuries in an alley in Hexham, Northumberland, in January 2023, when the boy, whom she knew, attacked her. The killer, then aged 16 and who cannot be identified because of his age, also stabbed a boy until he was stopped by members of the public who intervened.
Holly’s mother, Micala Trussler, had been so concerned that morning she contacted police about the boy, and it was agreed Holly should not leave school if the youth was outside, jurors at Newcastle Crown Court were told. The defendant, who has mental health issues, admitted manslaughter but denied murder, claiming his mind went blank that day and that he had only intended to take his own life. The prosecution said he had followed Holly around the town centre for about 45 minutes as she visited shops with friends, after the group had finished school for the day.
Holly had told a friend just hours before he stabbed her that the boy was “basically stalking her”, jurors heard. The boy asked to speak to her when he saw her outside a pizza shop, lured her down an alleyway, then attacked her with a knife he was carrying. The defendant also narrowly avoided killing the teenage boy who had been with Holly that day, and who tried to step in to save her.
Jurors were sent out to start deliberations on Tuesday and Justice Hilliard thanked the panel for their careful deliber.