PA MediaA 17-year-old boy has been found guilty of the murder of Holly Newton, 15, who was stabbed to death in Hexham, Northumberland, in January 2023.
Holly had complained about the boy “stalking” her hours before she was repeatedly stabbed by him in an alleyway.
The boy, who was 16 at the time and cannot be identified, had admitted manslaughter but denied murder.
A jury at Newcastle Crown Court also found him guilty of wounding with intent a second victim who came to Holly’s aid.
He will be sentenced at a two-day hearing at the same court beginning on 31 October.
Crown Prosecution ServiceThe boy, who was diagnosed with autism, initially told Newcastle Crown Court his mind was “blank” at the time of the attack and he was, in fact, trying to kill himself.
He then admitted he attacked her out of anger before backtracking and saying he never intended to hurt her.
The murder trial heard the killer followed Holly after she left school on 27 January 2023, before stabbing her in an alley beside a pizza shop at about 17:00 BST.
Holly’s mother Micala Trussler had arranged a meeting with police for that evening to discuss her concerns after the boy turned up uninvited at their home in Haltwhistle the night before.
Family handoutHolly suffered 36 knife injuries and the blade snapped during the minute-long assault, which only came to an end when two passers-by pulled the boy away.
Ms Trussler told the BBC Holly “begged” her to let her go into town after school on the day of her murder rather than come home to meet the police, so the meeting was rescheduled for later that evening.
“In the end, the biggest mistake of my life,” she said.
Ms Trussler felt like she was “frozen” while the “whole world moved around” her.
“You look at people and think ‘how can you carry on with your life, my daughter’s died?’
“But life does have to go on.
“What else are you meant to do? He has ruined our lives and he took Holly’s.”
The girl’s step-father Lee Trussler said he was “haunted” by her death.
Source Agencies
