A “jealous” teenager who stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death in the street because he could not accept their relationship was over can now be named, a judge has ruled.
While reporting restrictions typically prevent the identification of juvenile offenders, Mr Justice Hilliard ruled on Wednesday that the killer of 15-year-old Holly Newton should be named in the interests of open justice and in light of national debates about knife crime and violence against women.
Following a trial in August at Newcastle Crown Court, Logan MacPhail, now aged 17, was convicted of Holly’s murder in Hexham in January 2023.
MacPhail stalked her as she walked around the town centre with friends before launching a frenzied attack, stabbing or slashing her 36 times with a kitchen knife.
It can now be reported that MacPhail had been Holly’s ex-partner, and prosecutors told the court that he was “deeply unhappy” that their 18-month relationship was over and “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, after his concerned mother 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 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.
During the trial, jurors heard that Holly was “not at all happy” to see him but she eventually agreed to speak to him down an alleyway. In less than a minute, he inflicted 36 knife wounds on Holly, stabbing her 12 times and slashing her 19 times. She suffered a further five defensive injuries to her hands.
After being alerted by her screams, another teenage boy ran down the alleyway and grabbed the defendant, and was also stabbed himself. Passers-by and people from the pizza shop attempted to help and Holly was rushed to the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, but she was pronounced dead.
He was convicted of murder and also the wounding with intent of the boy who tried to save her.
Mr Justice Hilliard lifted the reporting restriction, even though MacPhail will not turn 18 – when such an order would normally lapse – until December this year.
Ruling that the public should know the murderer’s identity so as to better understand what happened, 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.”
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 his mind went blank after she was “horrible” to him.
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.
He will be sentenced at the end of this month.
Additional reporting by PA
