Boy, 17, is discovered responsible of murdering schoolgirl Holly Newton
A 17-year-old boy has been found guilty of murdering Holly Newton, a schoolgirl who was stabbed to death in an alleyway hours after telling friend she was being ‘stalked’.
‘Keen dancer’ Holly, who was just 15, was on her way home from school and was doing some shopping with her friends in Hexham, Northumberland in January 2023.
But the ‘bright and beautiful’ girl was being ‘stalked’ by a boy, who was 16 at the time, for around 45 minutes as he followed them around the town centre, ‘careful not to be seen’.
He was lurking at a bus stop when he asked to speak to her and launched at the girl in a savage attack with a kitchen knife and stabbed her ‘many, many times’.
The obsessed teenager left her with 36 injuries after stabbing her 12 times, slashing her 19 times, and causing five ‘defensive’ injuries in a frenzy which snapped the knife.
He also stabbed her boyfriend, a 16-year-old boy, before members of the public tried to intervene, the court was told.
The defendant, who cannot be named because of his age, admitted manslaughter but denied murder, claiming his mind went blank that day and that he had only intended to take his own life.
But a jury at Newcastle Crown Court found him guilty of murder.
Holly Newton was stabbed to death in an alley in Hexham, Northumberland in January 2023
The knife used during the attack was snapped in the process
Floral tributes and messages were left at the scene following the attack
He will be sentenced during a two-day hearing at the same court on October 31.
Newcastle Crown Court previously heard the defendant say he may not be an entirely bad person as he ‘helps baby birds and stuff’.
Holly’s mother was so worried that day that she contacted the police about the teenager, who her daughter knew.
The circumstances were so severe that it was agreed Holly shouldn’t leave school if the teenager was outside.
Friends and family have described Holly Olivia as a ‘beautiful’ girl who loved to dance
He had turned up uninvited at their home in Haltwhistle the night before her death.
Mere hours before the fatal ambush, Holly sent a chilling message to her friend about the teenage boy.
She texted: ‘Apparently [the boy[ is gonna meet to me outside of school. So he’s basically stalking me at this point. He’s gonna follow me until I talk to him’.
Jurors were told that prior to the attack, the teenager followed her around the town centre for 45 minutes as she went shopping with her friends.
He lurked at a bus stop when she went to order a pizza and then asked to speak to her, the court heard.
Prosecutor David Brook said: ‘CCTV in the town centre shows that shortly before 4pm (the teenager) was following those three, at a distance…
‘It is quite clear he was being careful not to be seen by them for the next 45 minutes or so. What Holly didn’t know is he had a knife with him.’
Holly had ventured into town believing she was safe because she thought he was 23 miles away in Newcastle, it was heard.
The attack in the alleyway wasn’t captured on CCTV but Holly’s boyfriend ‘heard her screaming’ and ran to help before he was also stabbed, prosecutors said.
He saw her on the ground and pulled the attacker off in a ‘headlock’ but the teenager then turned on him with the knife, the prosecutors claimed.
Passers-by and people in the shop bravely entered the fray and the teenager was ‘forcibly pulled off Holly while still stabbing her’.
Both Holly and her boyfriend were taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle, but sadly the schoolgirl could not be saved.
The boy required surgery after his shoulder, arm and thigh were injured.
After killing Holly, the youth briefly started to cry then said ‘Oh, what have I done?’, but was claiming she had been ‘awful’ to him, the court heard.
Holly Newton was stabbed with a kitchen knife 36 times resulting in her death
The defendant tailed his victim through the town for around 45 minutes before the attack
He was lurking at a bus stop when he asked to speak to her and launched at the girl in a savage attack with a kitchen knife and stabbed her ‘many, many times’
Family and friends laid messages, floral tributes and teddy bears in memory of Holly
One tribute read: ‘To our baby Holly. Our hearts hurt so much right now. We love you so much’
Giving evidence by video link, the teenager told jurors he could not remember stabbing the girl but recalled getting a bus to Hexham and some parts of walking around the town.
Nigel Edwards KC, defending, asked him: ‘The night that Holly died, when you go to Hexham, what is it you want to do?’
The defendant replied: ‘It wasn’t for going there to hurt her or kill her, it wasn’t for that.’
Asked what he had wanted to happen that day, he added: ‘To try and take my own life.’
In an unusual step, the judge invited Micala Trussler to pay tribute to her daughter before the jury dispersed, so they had a better picture of the kind of girl she was.
Mr Justice Hilliard said: ‘The focus has been about the defendant in this trial and you have only heard his view of Holly.
‘Before you depart, I wanted you to have a more complete understanding of her and what she was like.’
Ms Trussler stepped out of the public gallery and described how her ‘beautiful child’ loved her family, sport, animals and dancing.
Specialist search team pictured carrying out their investigation at the scene at the time
Holly’s mother Micala Trussler wrote on Facebook that the teenager had ‘loved animals’
In an unusual step, the judge invited Micala Trussler to pay tribute to her daughter before the jury dispersed, so they had a better picture of the kind of girl she was
She said: ‘She grew into a happy teenager who would do anything for anyone.’
She added: ‘At school Holly was a quiet student who just got on with her work.
‘There was never a bad report from her teachers.
‘When Holly started at the Queen Elizabeth High School in Hexham she felt like she belonged, she had such a tight-knit group of friends who were always there for each other.’
Her cat Maxi miaowed every morning to be let into her room, Ms Trussler said.
‘To this day, Maxi still does this, however Holly isn’t there to open the door,’ she said.
The judge said: ‘It is the kind of devastation that knives leave in their wake when people carry them and use them.’
Shortly after the tragic attack, Ms Trussler responded to a Facebook post from the injured boy’s older brother, saying: ‘Holly was so excited about her new relationship with your brother! I can never thank him enough for trying to save my baby girl.’
Holly’s school said at the time: ‘We are devastated at the loss of Holly, a truly lovely student who was quiet, conscientious, helpful and kind.’
One message left by loved one reads: ‘All our love to the most beautiful girl in the world. We will miss you forever Holly’
Kerry Whitfield, owner of Lightning Dance Academy in Consett which Holly attended, said: ‘It’s such a shock. Holly was at a dance practice on Thursday night. She was a lovely girl, always helpful in class with a great sense of humour.’
Lynsey Colling, Head of the Crown Court Unit for CPS North East, said: ‘The killing of Holly Newton has been utterly devastating for her family and our focus throughout this case has been to ensure that the person responsible was brought to justice for his actions.
‘A significant challenge for us in the early stages of the case was to establish the defendant’s fitness to plead, which had been raised as an issue by the defence.
‘The Crown instructed specialist psychologists, whose independent assessments persuaded the court that the defendant did, in fact, have the capacity to enter pleas and to stand trial for the allegations made against him’
‘Today’s outcome is the result of effective partnership working between the Crown Prosecution Service and Northumbria Police from the very early stages of this investigation.
‘Our thoughts remain with Holly’s family, for whom this remains a particularly difficult time, and we only hope that Holly’s family can take some measure of comfort in seeing her killer brought to justice.’
