Leo Ross, 12, was stabbed in a random attack near the River Cole in Birmingham by a teenager who terrorised three elderly ladies in the days leading up to the horror attack
The teenager who fatally stabbed a schoolboy in the stomach in a random attack on his way home from school has been detained for a minimum term of 13 years.
Leo Ross, 12, was making his way home from school in Birmingham on 21 January last year when he fell victim to the unprovoked attack. He was knifed by a then 14-year-old boy and later succumbed to his injuries in hospital.
The killer teen, now 15 admitted to Leo’s murder at a hearing last month. The court heard he had tried to drown an 82-year-old woman and terrorised two other pensioners in the days before the fatal incident.
He was sentenced today (February 10) by Mr Justice Choudhury KC to at least 13 years behind bars. The judge told him he will be on licence for the rest of his life. He said: “That means you will be in custody until you are 27 years old.”
He added: “Then it will be up to the parole board to determine if you can be released. You will be on licence for the rest of your life.”
The judge described Leo as “an innocent boy” who was “loved by all who knew him with future ahead of him”. He said: “He had his whole future ahead of him.
“What you did last January was horrific, shocking. You went around a park looking for people to hurt. You chose people weaker and smaller than you, three elderly ladies and a little boy.
“I hope you realise how cowardly your actions were in picking such victims to attack and kill.”
Leo had no ties to his assailant and was subjected to what senior officers believe was a completely random and unprovoked stabbing.
West Midlands Police revealed that the teen lingered after the stabbing to talk with officers at the murder scene, falsely claiming he had found Leo fatally wounded beside the River Cole. He then stated he raised the alarm by alerting others.
West Midlands Police said he “got a kick out of seeing the chaos he’d created” then unfold around him. Police inquiries discovered that the knife used to kill Leo was thrown into a nearby river.
Leo’s heartbroken mum Rachel Fisher today bravely read a victim impact statement to the killer from the witness box. He looked down for the whole time she spoke.
She said: “Leo was truly the most kind, caring and funny little boy. He did not have a bad bone in his body and did not serve to die.
“Leo loved life. He loved learning about the world. He had a heart of absolute gold and he was just an innocent little boy whose life was taken before he even became a teenager. Leo was only 12 years old.
“He was witty, had an amazing sense of humour and was a brilliant big brother to his little sister. He was my first-born child. I loved Leo more than life itself and my life will never be the same again.
“You have taken my nine-year-old daughter’s best friend.
“Leo went to school and never came back, Can you imagine what that does to a little girl?”.
Ms Fisher said she gave birth just days after Leo’s death.
She said: “You have also taken my baby boy’s chance to meet his older brother. He was so excited to meet his baby brother and now he will never be able to do that.
“My whole family as I knew it has been shattered.
“My dad lost over three stone and had a heart attack at Leo’s funeral.
“My mum cries every single day. It was on her birthday that Leo was killed. Her life has been destroyed. She helped me raise him.
“Everyone has lost the most beautiful young soul. For what?
“We will never know why such an innocent young boy minding his own business walking home school was robbed of his life for no reason whatsoever.”
Ms Fisher said she and Leo shared an “amazing bond” and shared laughs. She added: “I can still hear his laugh in my head.
“I have nightmares about what happened to my baby. A part of me left that day and I will never get that part of me back.
“Losing my beautiful boy the way I did will haunt me forever.”
Leo’s dad Chris, 39, then took to the witness box to read his own victim witness statement to his son’s killer.
Before beginning to read it he stared at the killer, who still had his head down, and ordered him “Look up man”.
The youth pulled a face before staring at Mr Ross, without showing any emotion, for the rest of his statement.
Mr Ross told him: “You killed my son, Leo Ross. Your horrendous act has destroyed me.
“I will never be the same again after telling Lily that her big brother would never be home again. The sleepless nights are too frequent to count, the nightmares and endless tears will not stop any time soon.
“Leo was loved by everyone, everyone said how special he was. He was the kindest little boy that you could ever hope to meet. He loved school and going home to his sister and playing on his PS5 console.“It breaks my heart to think Leo was alone and I wasn’t there to protect him. He was so gentle and little, he must have been so scared.“The heartbreak will never go away. There are no celebrations in my home, no birthdays, Christmas, just memories.“My life has been a living Hell since the 21st January last year. Leo would have never hurt a soul, Leo never did anything bad to anybody. He always had a positive effect on everybody around him.“As a result of your actions that day, it has meant that I am living a life sentence without my special little boy.“However, there is no minimum term to my sentence. There will always be a hole in my life where Leo should be.“It breaks my heart that I will not be able to see my boy grow up and the man that he would become.“Leo, I will always love you.” Staring at his son’s killer, he added: “And I will get justice for him.”
Prosecution counsel Rachel Brand KC told a sentencing hearing that the defendant, who sat in the dock wearing a navy blue Nike tracksuit, had attacked women in the days before he killed Leo.
Describing the first incident, Ms Brand said Leo’s killer told an 82-year-old woman, “I tried to drown you, but now I’m going to kill you” after pushing her into a river and hitting her with her own walking pole.
The court heard a 72-year-old woman was attacked the day before he murdered the 12-year-old schoolboy, causing her to bleed “profusely” from a head wound.
After applications from the media, judge Mr Justice Choudhury KC said, in his view, the killer should be named because of the public interest in the case.
After allowing defence barrister Alistair Webster KC some time to consider the ruling, the judge said the teenager can be identified in reporting from 1pm on February 11 to allow time for a possible appeal of the decision.
The judge said: “The defendant has pleaded guilty and falls to be sentenced for very serious crimes, including murder – the most serious of all.”
The judge said the public would want to know “what could have led a child to commit such acts”.
For the latest breaking news and stories from across the globe from the Daily Star, sign up for our newsletters.