A teenager who stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death in the street has been named after a judge lifted reporting restrictions that prevented his identity from being disclosed.
Logan MacPhail, now 17, was convicted of murdering Holly Newton in Hexham, Northumberland. He attacked her because he was jealous that she was with someone else, and could not accept that their relationship was over.
Holly was 15 when she was killed in the frenzied attack in January 2023. MacPhail, then 16, had stalked her as she walked around the town centre with friends, before following her into an alleyway and inflicting 36 injuries upon her with a kitchen knife he had taken from home.
MacPhail was convicted of murder after a trial at Newcastle crown court in August, but reporting restrictions meant that neither his name nor the fact that he was Holly’s ex-boyfriend could be reported.
During the trial at Newcastle crown court, David Brooke KC, prosecuting, said MacPhail, who had met Holly when they both attended Army cadets, was “jealous” that she was with someone else, and “deeply unhappy” that their 18-month relationship had ended.
The court heard that MacPhail, who has autism and a low IQ, had left the special school he attended on Tyneside early and travelled by bus to Hexham, where he attacked Holly at about 5pm, after stalking her around the town.
The previous night he had travelled more than 40 miles (60km) from his home in Gateshead to her house in Haltwhistle, Northumberland, the jury was told.
He had hung around close to her house until he was taken home by police at 1am. His mother had reported him 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 outside.
Mr Justice Hilliard lifted the reporting restriction, which would have automatically lapsed when MacPhail turned 18 in December.
“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,” the judge said.
“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.
“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.”
MacPhail was convicted of Holly’s murder, as well as the wounding with intent of a boy who stepped in to try to save her.
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, rather than attend court.
He had denied murder but admitted manslaughter, claiming he blacked out, and that he did not intend to use the knife on Holly, but had planned to use it to kill himself.
He will be sentenced at the end of this month.
