Bardia Shojaeifard: Boy, 15, jailed for murder of Alfie Lewis in knife attack outside school in Leeds
A 15-year-old boy who had a “worrying interest in knives” has been jailed for life – with a minimum of 13 years behind bars – for stabbing another teenager to death on the way home from school.
Bardia Shojaeifard was named for the first time today by a judge shortly before he was sentenced for the murder of Alfie Lewis, also 15.
Alfie was stabbed to death in front of pupils leaving a primary school in the Horsforth area of Leeds last November.
The court heard Shojaeifard – who was 14 at the time of the murder – was an “outwardly normal” boy.
He admitted stabbing Alfie with a 13cm-long knife he had brought from home, but denied murder and claimed he was acting in self-defence when he pulled out the blade.
Alfie Lewis
Shojaeifard was found guilty of murdering Alfie by a Leeds Crown Court jury in April.
Mr Justice Cotter removed reporting restrictions that prevented him from being identified on Friday.
He said lifting the defendant’s anonymity would help in the “vitally important debate about the scourge of knife crime, among young people in particular”.
A picture recovered from the phone of Bardia Shojaeifard shows him posing with a knife. Pic: West Yorkshire Police
Pic: West Yorkshire Police
Mr Justice Cotter said the public would be wondering how a young boy “from a loving and supportive family” could commit such an “extraordinary” crime “without forewarning or any warning signs save for some pictures of knives on his phone”.
Alfie was stabbed twice – with a chest wound penetrating his heart and causing “catastrophic bleeding”, West Yorkshire Police said.
He was pronounced dead in hospital a short time later.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Eyewitnesses had said Shojaeifard had approached Alfie and attacked him without provocation – with the victim trying to back away.
Alfie was heard saying “chill out” and “what are you doing?” as Shojaeifard swung at him with the knife.
The attacker later ran off and left the knife near the scene, and was arrested at his home about an hour later.
Detectives believe Shojaeifard had been carrying the kitchen knife all day, and had intended to seek Alfie at home time.
Leeds Crown Court had heard that there had been two previous incidents involving both boys – including one last July that saw Alfie intervene in a fight Shojaeifard was having with another boy.
A week before the deadly attack – on Halloween – Shojaeifard had walked past Alfie’s house with a bag of fireworks, prompting Alfie to say to him: “Give me the bag or something worse than last time is going to happen.”
Read more from Sky News:
Hackers ‘publish stolen blood test data’
Football legend robbed at gunpoint
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
From May: Alfie’s brother thanks jury
Following the sentencing, Detective Chief Inspector Stacey Atkinson said: “Shojaeifard targeted Alfie in a premeditated and planned attack using murderous violence to end his young life, for which there can be no excuse or justification.
“His actions have robbed Alfie of his future and left his family and friends absolutely devastated. No sentence will ever compensate them for their loss.”
Alfie’s mother Heather Lane addressed Shojaeifard directly as she read her victim impact statement in court.
“No sentence will ever be enough for what you have done. I will never, ever forgive you,” she said.
Ms Lane sobbed as she said: “Alfie was my heart and when he was stabbed in the heart it killed me too.”
Alfie’s older brother Antony described him as a “loving and caring little mate” who “never deserved what happened to him”.
Mr Justice Cotter told Shojaeifard: “He had a long life ahead of him and you took that away.
“Knives have stolen so many lives, and you and others must understand how dangerous this obsession is.
“Without your interest in knives, Alfie would be here today.”
A man’s body has been recovered from an area of flooding in North Yorkshire, police have said, as major incidents have been declared in two counties.
The body was found near Intake Lane in Beal, close to Eggborough and Knottingley.
Police believe the man may have entered the water in the last 24 to 48 hours.
Follow the latest on the weather
North Yorkshire Police said: “Despite extensive enquiries, including with our colleagues in Humberside and West Yorkshire Police, we have been unable to identify him.
“He was found without any identification or personal belongings.”
The man was also described as white, in his early 50s to 60s, with light brown short hair and stubble.
He was wearing brown walking boots, blue denim jeans, a multicoloured knitted jumper and possibly a dark green waterproof coat, police added.
It comes after Leicestershire and Lincolnshire both declared a major incident in response to the extreme weather hitting the UK and Ireland.
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Leicestershire Fire and Rescue was the first emergency service in England to declare an incident and said it had received more than 200 calls since Monday morning over widespread flooding.
Crews had found cars stuck in floodwater and evacuated residents from flooded homes and rising waters, with some 17 people rescued as of 1.45pm.
The Lincolnshire Resilience Forum declared a major incident shortly after, and noted that emergency services had rescued children who were stranded at a school in Edenham.
Meanwhile, the Met Office has three yellow weather warnings – each for snow and ice – in effect throughout Monday evening and Tuesday morning.
Pic: Met Office
A warning covering the west and north coast of Scotland – reaching into Inverness and Aberdeen – will last until midday, while an alert in effect for all of Northern Ireland will last until 11am.
The Met Office has also issued a warning covering Wales and parts of northwest England on Monday evening, moving into southwest England, the Midlands and parts of southern England in the early hours of Tuesday.
On Wednesday, a yellow weather warning for snow is in effect across the south of England – stretching from just above Truro in Cornwall to Canterbury in Kent – from 9am to midnight.
-
Sports2 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports9 months agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports1 year agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports3 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business2 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway