Closing summary
A 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to at least 13 years in custody for the murder of Leo Ross, 12, in Birmingham last year. Leo was stabbed in the stomach as he made his way home from his school in Yardley Wood on 21 January 2025 and later died in hospital. The 15-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to the murder last month.
Delivering the sentence at Birmingham crown court on Tuesday, Justice Choudhury KC said the 15-year-old had been “engaged in a campaign of violence against several people” and Leo’s family were enduring a “living hell” now. “Leo was an innocent schoolboy, who was just on his way to meet a friend in the park … you stabbed Leo with a knife and left him to die. Leo was only 12 years old,” Choudhury said.
Defending the 15-year-old, Alistair Webster said the boy has “formidable mental health problems” and a “repeated history of hearing voices”. In mitigation, the barrister said the defendant had been diagnosed with childhood conduct disorder and ADHD, and had suicidal thoughts.
The killer still cannot be named for legal reasons, despite the judge indicating he was happy for the reporting restrictions to be lifted. Journalists will be able to publish his photo at 1pm tomorrow, subject to an appeal from Birmingham Children’s Trust. If successful, the ban on naming him will remain in place.
Speaking outside Birmingham crown court after the sentencing of her son’s killer, Leo Ross’s mother Rachel Fisher said the term imposed is a “joke”. She told the Press Association: “It’s a joke. Thirteen years is a complete and utter joke, and it’s just going to keep on happening and keep on happening until something’s done about it. These kids aren’t scared. They aren’t scared of the sentence. They’re not worried. The local authority and the police have got a lot to answer for.”
In a statement read by DI Joe Davenport from West Midlands Police outside Birmingham crown court following the sentencing, Leo Ross’s foster family, the Westons, said: “Today’s sentencing does not bring justice in the way our hearts long for. No sentence can ever undo or compensate the loss of Leo nor return him to us. Our family will live with this pain forever. Leo was taken from us for no reason in a senseless and unprovoked act of violence. He was deeply loved and should still be here, laughing, living, and sharing life with us.”
The killer, who was 14 at the time of the attack, previously admitted to two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent on the 19 and 20 January and assault occasioning actual bodily harm on 21 January 2025 in relation to separate attacks on other victims. He also admitted to having a bladed article on the day he killed Leo.
That’s all from the live blog today. Read our full court report here:
DI Joe Davenport, who spoke outside Birmingham crown court while Leo Ross’s foster mother held a picture of the youngster, said they welcome the sentence imposed on the killer.
He said:
This was a tragic and random act of violence which killed an innocent young boy.
We welcome the sentence of Leo’s attacker to life in prison. We will likely never know why he decided to attack Leo who was completely innocent.
We hope Leo’s family can take comfort in this even though nothing can bring him back.
Leo's foster family: 'Leo was taken from us for no reason'
In a statement read by DI Joe Davenport from West Midlands Police outside Birmingham crown court following the sentencing, Leo Ross’s foster family, the Westons, said:
Today’s sentencing does not bring justice in the way our hearts long for.
No sentence can ever undo or compensate the loss of Leo nor return him to us. Our family will live with this pain forever.
Leo was taken from us for no reason in a senseless and unprovoked act of violence. He was deeply loved and should still be here, laughing, living, and sharing life with us.
We miss him every day, our world has been torn apart and his absence has left a permanent void in our family, one that can never be filled.
While we acknowledge the court’s decision today, it marks neither closure nor healing. It is simply another step in a journey of grief that began the day we lost Leo.
Our focus remains on remembering who Leo was, not how he was taken from us.
Updated
Leo's mother brands sentence 'a joke', says police and council 'have a lot to answer for'
Speaking outside Birmingham crown court after the sentencing of her son’s killer, Leo Ross’s mother Rachel Fisher said the term imposed is a “joke”.
She told the Press Association:
It’s a joke. Thirteen years is a complete and utter joke, and it’s just going to keep on happening and keep on happening until something’s done about it.
These kids aren’t scared. They aren’t scared of the sentence. They’re not worried. The local authority and the police have got a lot to answer for.
Fisher said she fears that more children will be killed by knives, adding:
They’re going to keep on doing it. This country is an absolute joke.
Speaking about her son Leo, Fisher said:
What an amazing, amazing boy he was. He would never hurt a fly. Not just me as his mum says that - everybody says that.”
Updated
Judge Choudhury offers his condolences to Leo’s family and is summing up what the 13-year minimum sentence looks like in practice.
He tells the court:
It’s important to emphasise so that you, and all those viewing the sentence, can understand the position that the minimum term is just that; a minimum term that cannot be reduced in any way.
After your minimum term is served, there is no guarantee that you will be released at that time or at any particular time thereafter.
It is only if the Parole Board decides that you are no longer a danger to society and fit to be released that you will be released. That will not be before you have served every day of your minimum term.
He adds, even after released, he could be recalled at any time and orders the murderer to be taken down. That concludes the sentencing hearing today.
A reminder that the killer still cannot be named for legal reasons, despite the judge indicating he was happy for the reporting restrictions to be lifted.
Journalists will be able to publish his photo at 1pm tomorrow, subject to an appeal from Birmingham Children’s Trust. If successful, the ban on naming him will remain in place.
Updated
Justice Choudhury has reiterated the 13 year minimum jail term to the teenage killer, reduced by time already served on remand.
He says he would not be released until the Parole Board found it was “safe and appropriate” to do so.
The judge is now discussing the other assaults, which he will be treating separately from the murder conviction.
Updated
The judge is now setting out his basis for sentencing, which as we heard earlier will see the teenager detained for a minimum of 13 years.
He says his mental state did not affect his actions and that he “engaged in serious acts of violence against vulnerable individuals who were seen to be walking alone in the park”.
Your actions in the park … did involve significant planning. Your attacks were not impulsive.
Judge Choudhury says he does consider there to have been “significant planning” to the attack.
The judge says the teenage killer had a difficult childhood, first exhibiting behavioural issues at the age of two.
He said:
There is some suggestion in the report that you are young for your age.
However, it seems to me that your actions around the time of your offending indicate quite sophisticated and callous thinking designed to throw people off your trail.
He adds that the killer acts “even the most basic insight” into your actions and does not understand what “sorry” means.
The judge says that the teenager rode around Shire Country Park, Hall Green in Birmingham, looking for potential victims to attack at random.
In the days leading up to the murder, the killer assaulted several people, including elderly women.
He said the defendant alerted people to what he had done to his victims by pretending he was an innocent bystander was part of a pattern in which he enjoyed “witnessing the havoc you have created”.
After his first attack on an 82-year-old woman, the defendant alerted a youth he knew to what had happened, telling them an elderly person had been “beat half to death” in the park.
The judge said: “The savagery required to inflict such injuries to a defenceless elderly lady is hard to comprehend.”
He added: “Your description of beating a person half to death reveals you are very much aware of what you did and how serious it was.”
Justice Choudhury goes on to describe Leo as a “lovely little boy who loved learning, collecting and exploring”.
He says Leo was “normally a sweet boy with impeccable manners and a big heart'” and reads out brief extracts from the victim statements we heard earlier, including from Leo’s parents.
The judge is now ruminating on the teenager’s attack on an elderly lady, who he pushed into a ditch and attacked.
“The savagery required to attack such injuries” had been “hard to imagine” he added.
Judge: 'You robbed Leo of his life and his future'
The judge in the case, Justice Choudhury KC, is now delivering his televised remarks following the handing down of the sentence.
Addressing the teenage killer, who still cannot be named for legal reasons, he says:
You are still a child. You were only 14-years-old at the time of these offences.
But right-thinking people would struggle to comprehend that what you did – over the course of just three days in January last year – were the actions of a child.
He adds:
Leo was an innocent schoolboy, who was just on his way to meet a friend in the park … you stabbed Leo with a knife and left him to die. Leo was only 12 years old.
The devastation you have caused to so many lives is hard to comprehend and for those who knew and loved Leo, almost too great to bare.
You have robbed Leo of his life and his future.
Killer, 15, sentenced to at least 13 years in custody
Leo Ross’s teenage killer will spend a minimum of 13 years behind bars, the judge has told the court.
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.
Defending the 15-year-old, Alistair Webster said he has a “severe” conduct disorder which would have affected his ability to form a rational judgment.
Webster said the defendant is not someone who “clearly plans what he does” and his actions had been “inconsistent, odd and for no apparent reason”.
He said:
He has a repeated history of hearing voices. It did come as a surprise that he hasn’t been diagnosed as schizophrenic. Perhaps he is too young for that.
He added that the defendant was “in a far from normal and deteriorating mental state” before he committed the offences.
Teenage killer has suffered from 'formidable mental health problems'
Defence barrister Alistair Webster said the 15-year-old killer of Leo Ross has “formidable mental health problems”.
Webster told the court that the teenager “shows recurrent episode of self-harm” and other “bizarre” behaviours.
In mitigation, the barrister said the defendant has been diagnosed with childhood conduct disorder and ADHD, and has previously had suicidal thoughts.
Webster added:
He has formidable mental health problems which present a picture which we can see is an alarming one.
In mitigation, the defendant’s counsel Alistair Webster said it was impossible to give a reason why the 15-year-old had decided to kill Leo and attack vulnerable elderly women.
He said:
The effect upon family, friends, is long-standing and significant and I want to make it clear nothing we will say should be seen as suggesting any of his victims were inviting what he did to them.
[Leo’s] mum and others want to know what lay behind the killing of Leo. It is, in reality, impossible to give a logical reason.
He added:
His behaviour has been an appalling shock to his own family and left them, in turn, in torment. Many lives have been seriously adversely affected and of course, Leo’s life was taken from him.
He will, reflecting the serious nature of the offending, have to be detained for life.
The teenager who killed 12-year-old schoolboy Leo Ross wrote a note which said he was going to hold his “hands up” about the stabbing, the court heard.
Prosecution KC Rachel Brand told the court that on 2 July last year, a member of staff at the secure children’s home the defendant was living at found a handwritten note in his room.
The barrister read aloud the note, which said:
I’m not going to lie, I will hold my hands up and say that I done it.
I stabbed him, lower right stomach.
Updated
'I have lost everything', Leo's mother tells the court
We can bring you some more from the statement read out by Leo’s mother, Rachel Fisher, earlier.
She told the court:
Everyone has lost the most beautiful little soul, for what? We won’t ever know why such an innocent young boy, just walking home from school, minding his business, was robbed of his life for no reason whatsoever.
His funeral was beautiful. The streets were lined by people paying their respects but it should never have happened.
His life should have been just beginning but now he will never get to have his first job, his first car, get married or have his own children.
I will never see my lovely boy get married or have a family of his own. I have lost everything I did have and would have with him.
Instead of seeing my son living and enjoying his life, all I have is memories and photos and seeing him in my dreams. A part of me left that day and I will never get that part of me back.
Life since Leo was killed has been like a 'living hell', father says
The 15-year-old defendant is sitting in the dock, surrounded by four officers as he listens to the proceedings.
Speaking directly to the teenage defendant, Christopher Ross, Leo’s father, said: “Look up man … You killed my son.”
“Leo was loved by everyone. Everyone said how special he was. He was the kindest little boy you could ever hope to meet.”
“It breaks my heart that I wasn’t there to protect him.” Ross said living life without Leo has been like a “living hell”.
Updated
'If love could've saved Leo he would've lived forever', mother says
The court is now hearing victim impact statements. Leo’s birth mother, Rachel Fisher, said: “It should never have happened. Leo’s life should be just beginning.”
“I’ve lost everything I did have and would have with him, my firstborn child.”
“If love could’ve saved Leo he would’ve lived forever,” she added in an emotional statement to the court.
Updated
Leo’s killer attacked a 79-year-old woman, who “screamed” when he pushed her down, within half an hour before he stabbed the schoolboy, the court has heard.
Rachel Brand KC, prosecuting, said:
She was walking alone in the park on the afternoon of Tuesday 21 January last year at about three o’clock in the afternoon.
(The defendant) walked closely behind her, in fact she spoke to him - she asked him ‘do you want me to move aside?’.
(The boy) forcefully pushed her from behind. It caused her to fall forward onto her hands and knees.
Birmingham Crown Court heard that the only injuries to the elderly woman were soreness and muscle strain, but she was “shocked and alarmed” about what happened to her. Brand said the boy “turned and smiled” at the woman after the attack.
Updated
The proceedings have started again now the lunch break is over.
Updated
The prosecution then gave some pre-sentencing remarks and showed drone footage of the park in the immediate aftermath of the murder to the court, which is packed with family members, police, legal representatives and journalists. The court has adjourned for a lunch break now and will resume with the prosecution again at about 14:00.
Updated
Addressing the safety of the defendant in the secure institution he is being detained in, Justice Choudhury KC said:
Many of the incidents of violence recorded as involving the defendant over the last year while in detention have involved violence by him on others or on himself.
The judge said some of the other boys in the facility already know the defendant’s identity, which “has not resulted in any attacks” on him.
Judge agrees to delay in lifting reporting restrictions to allow appeal
Justice Choudhury KC has said the reporting restrictions around naming the defendant will stay in place for a further 24 hours to allow an appeal to be considered in the case.
Updated
The judge said factors of note favouring the lifting of restrictions included that the case is a matter of “substantial public interest” as knife crime, particularly among young people, is a matter of public concern.
The media submissions argued the previous attacks on vulnerable women carried out by the killer before he murdered Leo also made this a matter of public interest.
The judge noted that inclusion of the defendant’s name in reporting means the coverage is more likely to be read, as the media also highlighted in their submissions.
The judge said factors weighing against lifting the reporting restrictions included the welfare of the defendant, and the potential negative effects on his mental health and rehabilitation if named.
But after summarising the arguments that had been laid out to him, Justice Choudhury KC said the public interest around the case and commitment to open justice meant the defendant’s identity will be lifted, although not immediately.
The judge said the public would want to know “what could have led a child to commit such acts”.
Updated
Judge rules teenage killer can be named after press argued for lifting of anonymity
After considering applications from the press, Justice Choudhury KC has agreed with media submissions arguing for the teenage killer to be named. But the restriction has not been formally lifted so we cannot name the defendant yet. There is a possibility of an appeal from the defence.
At 12 years old, Leo is thought to have been the youngest victim of knife crime in the West Midlands.
Justice Choudhury KC is back from his deliberation and will make a decision about whether or not he will lift the reporting restriction shortly.
Updated
Leo Ross’s foster family is in court this morning to hear the judge pass his sentence, due this afternoon.
Leo Ross's killer remains 'a young and vulnerable human being', defence lawyer says
Defence lawyer Alistair Webster KC is arguing against the lifting of the reporting restriction. He told the court it was not in the public interest to name the defendant, adding there is significant risk to his rehabilitation if his identity is revealed.
He said:
These were shocking offences which have caused a great deal of sorrow and ongoing sense of loss to the families and victims involved.
We recognise the public and the press will be very interested in how the court deals with the sentence and what the sentence is …
But it is sometimes easy to confuse the public interest with an interest on behalf of the public.
While accepting what the defendant “did was very wrong”, the defence lawyer added: “He remains a human being and a young and vulnerable human being.”
Updated
According to the Mirror, one application from the media has been raised by Carl Jackson, a court reporter for Birmingham Live.
Updated
Justice Choudhury KC has adjourned the court to re-read submissions from the media who want the defendant’s name to be revealed. The court is expected to reconvene in about half an hour.
Updated
Sentencing hearing at Birmingham Crown Court begins
The sentencing hearing has begun. First, there will be technical arguments heard about the naming of the defendant, 15, whose identity has not been revealed due to legal restrictions around his age.
Updated
We are just waiting for the sentencing hearing at Birmingham Crown Court to begin now. It should do shortly.
Leo was found by a member of the public having been stabbed in the stomach at about 3.40pm on 21 January 2025. Police said it was a “chaotic and absolutely traumatic scene”. He was transported to hospital where he died from his injuries at about 7.30pm.
Police said he had been speaking to a friend on the phone, arranging to meet near a tree in Trittiford Mill Park. His friend turned up at the meeting point but Leo never did.
Leo was 'the sweetest, kindest boy' whose life was 'cut short by a senseless act', family says
In a statement released after his death, Leo’s foster family, the Westons, said:
Not a day goes by where we don’t think about Leo. His loss has impacted us deeply and his absence is felt constantly.
Leo was the sweetest, kindest boy who put others before himself. He was loved by all that knew him, he made friends with everyone he met, young or old.
He was wise beyond his years, full of knowledge and facts, full of life. A life cut short by a senseless act.
We hope justice is served and we can get some closure, whatever the outcome, it still does not give Leo his life back, the life he truly deserved to live to its fullest.
Leo’s birth mother Rachel Fisher said:
My son Leo was the sweetest, most kind-hearted boy. He didn’t have a bad bone in his body.
My baby’s life was stolen for no reason what so ever. My life will never be the same again without him. He will be loved and missed forever.
Teenage boy who admitted murdering Leo Ross, 12, due to be sentenced today
A teenage boy who murdered 12-year-old schoolboy Leo Ross in Birmingham last year will be sentenced later today.
The hearing at Birmingham Crown Court is likely to last all day and will contain information readers may find distressing.
On 29 January 2026, a 15-year-old boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to murdering Leo by stabbing him in the stomach during a random attack in parkland.
Leo was thought to have been making his way home from his school, the Christ Church, Church of England Secondary Academy, in Yardley Wood, Birmingham, when he was stabbed on 21 January 2025.
His attacker, who was 14 at the time, has also admitted two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to previous attacks on separate victims, as well as having a bladed article on the day he killed Leo.
He denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm on 22 October 2024 and assault by beating on 29 December 2024 in relation to two further victims, and those charges were ordered to lie on file.
Police inquiries established that the knife used to kill Leo was thrown into a nearby river, and that the boy responsible, riding a bike, had previously attacked several women in local parkland.
An inquiry by West Midlands police also found that the killer opted to wait around to talk to officers at the murder scene, falsely claiming he had stumbled across Leo lying fatally injured beside the River Cole.
It emerged that Leo had no connection with his attacker and was killed in what senior officers believe was a random and unprovoked stabbing. The defendant is expected to appear in front of Justice Choudhury KC for sentencing.
