Logan McPhail, then 16, chased 15-year-old Holly Newton for an hour through Hexham, Northumberland, before stabbing her 36 times in an alleyway.
A teenager who stabbed his ex-girlfriend to death in an alley has been jailed for life.
Logan McPhail, then 16, stalked 15-year-old Holly Newton for an hour through Hexham, Northumberland, before stabbing her 36 times. He also wounded a teenager who tried to stop the attack.
McPhail was found guilty of manslaughter after a trial at Newcastle Crown Court and was sentenced at the same court on Friday. He was sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 17 years.
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The prosecution said McPhail, who was said to have autism and learning difficulties, failed to acknowledge that his 18-month relationship with Holly was over. CCTV showed him hiding in plain sight in a snood and baseball cap as he followed Holly and her friends around Hexham town center in January 2023.
The night before he killed Holly, he drove 40 miles from his home in Gateshead to her home in Haltwhistle, Northumberland, where he wandered for hours. McPhail was eventually taken home by the police, who had been alerted by his mother that he was missing.
Holly’s mother, Mikala Trussler, was concerned enough to contact the police and arranged to speak with an officer about McPhail’s behavior the next day. That same day, McPhail stabbed Holly to death.
McPhail, who met Holly when they were both in the army, claimed he never planned to attack her but wanted to use the knife to kill himself, but jurors rejected his story. In a victim impact statement on Thursday, Ms Trussler said she could not be with her fatally wounded daughter in hospital because her body “was a crime scene”.
The mother of four said Hall and McPhail had a typical teenage relationship at first, but her daughter realized he was controlling her. Mrs Trussler believed her daughter was a victim of domestic violence, although she was under 16 at the time and her ex-partner had caused emotional distress.
He changed her social media passwords and made her believe he could hack into her accounts and threatened to harm himself. On the night before the murder, McPhail repeatedly tried to let Holly into the house and spent hours trying to get one of her siblings to open the door.
“It scares me to think what would have happened to the rest of my family if he had been let in,” the mother said.
McPhail’s learning difficulties, his autism and his guilt were discussed during the two-day sentencing hearing. David Brooke KC, prosecuting, said the teenager was able to get to Haltwhistle on his own from his home in Gateshead the night before the murder, follow Holly around Hexham while in disguise and lie to her about his whereabouts.
“He was very good at making rational choices,” Mr. Brooke said.
Nigel Edwards QC, defending, said McPhail’s progress since being in safe accommodation had been “meteoric”.
Sentencing McPhail, Judge Hilliard said: “The good facts are that you made a conscious decision to stab a 15-year-old girl to death with a knife which you illegally carried in a public place, secretly following her around town for an hour, all because your the relationship with her ended. You were jealous of the fact that she could see someone else.
“What happened in this case should never happen to any child or any parent.”
Speaking of the family’s loss, the judge added: “All these years lie ahead for a 15-year-old girl that she and they will never see again.”
McPhail, now 17, pleaded guilty to manslaughter but was convicted of murder and wounding the teenager. The boy was stabbed four times by McPhail after he tried to stop the deadly attack and said he is now struggling with his mental health.
The youth, who cannot be identified by the media because of his age, told the court in his victim impact statement that he struggled to pass his GCSEs and found it difficult to concentrate after the attack.
He said: “I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. I can’t imagine what Holly’s family is going through.
“Whatever sentence Logan receives will not change what happened that day.”
Last month, a judge lifted a reporting restriction that prevented the media from identifying McPhail because of his age.