A teenage boy convicted of killing 15-year-old Holly Newton after stalking her through the streets of Hexham can now be named as her ‘jealous’ ex-boyfriend Logan MacPhail.
The 17-year-old was found guilty of murder at Newcastle Crown Court in August but reporting restrictions prevented the media from naming him as he was still a child.
However, judge Mr Justice Hilliard today ordered he be unmasked saying the public should know his identity to better understand what happened, particularly in light of national debates about knife crime and violence against women.
He said: ‘The defendant has been convicted of grave crimes which are of local and national concern.
‘The defendant went to the victim’s home address against her wishes and later followed her after she had left her school at the end of the day.
‘However, at present the public are not aware of a key factor in the case, which is the nature of the relationship between the defendant and his victim.
‘They had been in a relationship but she did not wish it to continue.
‘This has rightly not been reported lest it might identify him, but it is impossible to have a full and proper understanding of the case and of why the defendant behaved as he did without knowing this factor.
‘The defendant’s identity must also be known already within the different communities where he and the victim lived and were at school.
‘There is great public concern about murders by young people who have carried knives in public places and about violence to women and girls.
‘Legitimate debate is assisted by knowing who has committed such offences and their circumstances and the full detail of the offences in question.
‘In my judgment, on the specific facts of this case, there are very strong reasons why, in the interests of open justice, the public should now have a full and proper understanding of such a serious crime and all of the circumstances in which it was committed.’
David Brooke KC, prosecuting, said MacPhail deliberately went to Hexham that day, followed Holly around the town centre and was ‘deeply unhappy’ that their 18-month relationship was over.
The prosecution said MacPhail was ‘jealous’ that she was with a new boy.
The night before he murdered Holly, MacPhail travelled more than 40 miles from his home in Gateshead to her house in Haltwhistle, Northumberland, and hung around nearby, before he was taken home by police at 1am.
His concerned mother had phoned the police to say MacPhail, then aged 16, had gone missing.
Holly’s mother, Micala Trussler, was so concerned about MacPhail’s behaviour that she arranged for her daughter not to leave school the next day if he was hanging around.
MacPhail, who has autism and a low IQ, left the special school he attended on Tyneside early and travelled by bus to Hexham, where he followed Holly around before launching his lethal attack near a pizza shop at around 5pm.
Newly-released CCTV shows MacPhail, masked and in a baseball cap, speaking to Holly at a bus stop moments before he killed her.
He was convicted of murder and also the wounding with intent of a boy who bravely tried to save her.
MacPhail, who met Holly when they both attended Army cadets, claimed he never planned to attack her, but wanted to use the knife to kill himself.
He denied murder but admitted manslaughter, claiming he blacked out.
Due to the defendant’s learning difficulties, the judge allowed MacPhail to follow much of the trial from the secure accommodation where he has been held.
MacPhail will be sentenced at the end of this month.
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