The grieving mother of a 15-year-old girl who was murdered by her obsessed ex-boyfriend said she was unable to touch her in hospital because “my daughter was a crime scene”.
Logan MacPhail, now 17, stabbed Holly Newton 36 times in an alleyway after he stalked her for an hour through the town centre of Hexham, Northumberland, in January 2023.
He was convicted following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court and earlier this month the judge lifted a reporting restriction that had prevented the media from identifying him.
Holly’s mother Micala Trussler read out her moving victim statement in the courtroom, watched by MacPhail who was following the case remotely via a videolink.
Mrs Trussler, a mother-of-four, said she raced to the scene of the Friday tea-time attack and was frightened of what she would find, only to be met with a more horrific scenario than she had imagined.
“The enormity and severity cannot be put into words,” she said.
“I was stopped from seeing my daughter in the alleyway and the ambulance due to the horrifying condition she was in.
“My daughter died not knowing her mam was by her side.
“Once at hospital, I was unable to even touch my daughter, hug her, kiss her or hold her hand.
“My daughter was a crime scene, she was evidence,” she said.
Mrs Trussler said Holly and MacPhail had a typical teenage relationship at the start. Holly was caring and tried to help her first and only boyfriend – who had autism and learning difficulties – to learn to read by getting books from the library.
Her mother described MacPhail as mild-mannered and polite during his regular visits to their home in Haltwhistle, Northumberland.
But things changed when Holly matured and decided to end the relationship, her mother said.
She believed her daughter was the victim of domestic abuse, although she was under 16 at the time, and was caused emotional turmoil by her ex-partner.
He changed her social media passwords and made her believe he could hack into her accounts as well as threatening to self-harm.
MacPhail travelled to her home the night before the murder and hung around for hours, trying to convince one of her siblings to let him in.
“I dread to think what could have happened to the rest of my family had he been allowed inside,” the mother said.
Mrs Trussler is raising money in her daughter’s memory to buy trauma boxes to help save lives of people at risk of bleeding to death and also wants teenagers to learn more about identifying toxic relationships.
She said: “Holly is missed beyond words and can never be described and never be forgotten.”
Mr Justice Hilliard thanked her for her words, adding: “You have done Holly’s memory proud by the way you have handled it.”
On the first day of a two-day sentencing exercise, there was discussion about MacPhail’s learning difficulties, his autism and his culpability.
David Brooke KC, prosecuting, pointed out the teenager was able to get to Haltwhistle from his home in Gateshead alone the night before the murder, to follow Holly around Hexham while disguised and to lie to her about his whereabouts.
“He was perfectly able to make rational choices,” Mr Brooke said.
MacPhail was convicted of murder, as well as wounding with intent on a boy who stepped in to try to stop the attack.
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.
MacPhail denied murder but admitted manslaughter, claiming he blacked out, but his story was rejected by the jury.
Nigel Edwards KC, defending, said MacPhail’s progress since he has been in secure accommodation was “meteoric”.
The judge agreed, saying: “I am aware he has undoubtedly made progress whilst (there).
“He has probably found out that he has got abilities that he didn’t realise that he had before, he has attended his education and he has formed good relationships with members of staff.
“These are the things that going forwards he has got to build on.”
Mr Justice Hilliard will pass sentence on Friday.
