Teenager found guilty of murdering 15-year-old Holly Newton
A teenager has been found guilty of murdering a 15-year-old girl in the street after following her for 45 minutes.
Holly Newton was left with 36 knife injuries after an attack in the Priestpopple area of Hexham, Northumberland, in January last year.
A 17-year-old boy, who cannot be named because of his age, admitted a charge of manslaughter but denied murder claiming his mind went blank that day and he had only intended to take his own life.
A 16-year-old boy who was with Holly at the time of the attack tried to help her and was also stabbed.
Holly Newton. Pic: PA
The 17-year-old, who was also found guilty of wounding with intent at Newcastle Crown Court, claimed he couldn’t remember stabbing Holly, or the boy who came to her aid.
Holly was taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle, after the attack but could not be saved.
The 16-year-old boy, who was also taken to hospital, suffered injuries to his shoulder, arm, and thigh which needed surgery.
Holly’s mother had been so concerned that day that she contacted police about the defendant, who was known to her daughter. It was agreed Holly should not leave school if the youth was outside, jurors were told.
For around 45 minutes, he followed Holly around the town centre as she visited shops with friends before attacking her.
Holly had told a friend just hours before the stabbing that the youth was “basically stalking her”, jurors heard.
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The funeral cortege for Holly Newton leaves Hexham Abbey in February last year. Pic: PA
When Holly and the 16-year-old boy she was with went into a pizza shop, the defendant waited outside at a bus stop, where he asked to speak to her, then lured her down an alleyway and attacked her with a knife he was carrying.
In just over a minute, the defendant inflicted 36 knife wounds on Holly, stabbing her 12 times, slashing her 19 times, and causing five “defensive” injuries, jurors heard.
He also narrowly avoided killing the teenage boy who had been with Holly and who tried to step in to save her.
The defendant, who has mental health issues and was watching proceedings from a secure unit via videolink, did not visibly react when the foreman gave guilty verdicts for the counts of murder and wounding with intent.
He will be sentenced during a two-day hearing at the same court on 31 October.
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In an unusual step, the judge Mr Justice Hilliard invited Holly’s mother, Micala Trussler, to pay tribute to her daughter before the jury dispersed.
Ms Trussler described how her “beautiful child” loved her family, sport, animals and dancing.
“She grew into a happy teenager who would do anything for anyone,” she said.
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‘Holly’s future was taken away from her’
“At school Holly was a quiet student who just got on with her work. There was never a bad report from her teachers.
“When Holly started at the Queen Elizabeth High School in Hexham she felt like she belonged, she had such a tight-knit group of friends who were always there for each other.”
The judge said: “It is the kind of devastation that knives leave in their wake when people carry them and use them.”
Speaking outside the court, Chief Superintendent Sam Rennison of Northumbria Police said: “Holly was a very popular girl and is sorely missed by many.
“Our thoughts very much continue to be with her loved ones and friends following this devastating loss.
“I also want to pay tribute to the bravery of the boy who was attacked while coming to the aid of his friends.
“I would like to thank both families for their incredible strength and patience throughout this seven-week trial and we will continue to support them in any way we can.”
UK
Teenager living in ‘continuous pain’ after surgeon Dr Yaser Jabbar carried out ‘inappropriate’ operations
A 15-year-old boy who was operated on twice by a now unlicensed Great Ormond Street surgeon is living with “continuous” pain.
Finias Sandu has been told by an independent review the procedures he underwent on both his legs were “unacceptable” and “inappropriate” for his age.
The teenager from Essex was born with a condition that causes curved bones in his legs.
Aged seven, a reconstructive procedure was carried out on Finias’s left leg, lengthening the limb by 3.5cm.
A few years later, the same operation was carried out on his right leg which involved wearing an invasive and heavy metal frame for months.
He has now been told by independent experts these procedures should not have taken place and concerns have been raised over a lack of imaging being taken prior to the operations.
Yaser Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence last year. Pic: LinkedIn
His doctor at London’s prestigious Great Ormond Street Hospital was former consultant orthopaedic surgeon Yaser Jabbar. Sky News has spoken to others he treated.
Mr Jabbar also did not arrange for updated scans or for relevant X-rays to be conducted ahead of the procedures.
The surgeries have been found to have caused Finias “harm” and left him in constant pain.
“The pain is there every day, every day I’m continuously in pain,” he told Sky News.
“It’s not something really sharp, although it does get to a certain point where it hurts quite a lot, but it’s always there. It just doesn’t leave, it’s a companion to me, just always there.”
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Finias’s surgery pictures
Care of over 700 patients being assessed
Mr Jabbar rescinded his UK medical licence in January last year after working at Great Ormond Street between 2017 and 2022.
The care of his 700-plus patients is being assessed, with some facing corrective surgery, among them Finias.
“Trusting somebody is hard to do, knowing what they have done to me physically and emotionally, you know, it’s just too much to comprehend for me,” he said.
“It wasn’t something just physically, like my leg pain and everything else. It was emotionally, because I put my trust in that specific doctor. My parents and I don’t really understand the more scientific terms, we just went by what he said.”
Doctors refused to treat Finias because of his surgeries
Finias and his family relocated to their native Romania soon after the reconstructive frame was removed from his right leg in the summer of 2021.
The pain worsened and they sought advice from doctors in Romania, who refused to treat Finias because of the impact of his surgeries.
Dozens of families seeking legal claims
His mother Cornelia Sandu is “furious” and feels her trust in the hospital has been shattered. They are now among dozens of families seeking legal claims.
Cyrus Plaza from Hudgell Solicitors is representing the family. He said: “In cases where it has been identified that harm was caused, we want to see Great Ormond Street Hospital agreeing to pay interim payments of compensation for the children, so that if they need therapy or treatment now, they can access it.”
Finias is accessing therapy and mental health support as he prepares for corrective surgery later in the year.
A spokesperson for Great Ormond Street Hospital told Sky News: “We are deeply sorry to Finias and his family, and all the patients and families who have been impacted.
“We want every patient and family who comes to our hospital to feel safe and cared for. We will always discuss concerns families may have and, where they submit claims, we will work to ensure the legal process can be resolved as quickly as possible.”
Finias with his mother and sister
Service not ‘safe for patients’
Sky News has attempted to contact Mr Jabbar.
An external review into the wider orthopaedic department at the hospital began in September 2022.
It was commissioned after the Royal College of Surgeons warned the hospital’s lower limb reconstruction service was not “safe for patients or adequate to meet demand”.
The investigation is expected to be completed by the end of the year.
Sir Keir Starmer has said closer ties with the EU will be good for the UK’s jobs, bills and borders ahead of a summit where he could announce a deal with the bloc.
The government is set to host EU leaders in London on Monday as part of its efforts to “reset” relations post-Brexit.
A deal granting the UK access to a major EU defence fund could be on the table, according to reports – but disagreements over a youth mobility scheme and fishing rights could prove to be a stumbling block.
The prime minister has appeared to signal a youth mobility deal could be possible, telling The Times that while freedom of movement is a “red line”, youth mobility does not come under this.
His comment comes after Kaja Kallas, the EU’s high representative for foreign affairs, said on Friday work on a defence deal was progressing but “we’re not there yet”.
Sir Keir met European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen later that day while at a summit in Albania.
Ursula von der Leyen and Sir Keir had a brief meeting earlier this week. Pic: PA
If agreed, the deal will be the third in two weeks, following trade agreements with India and the US.
Sir Keir said: “First India, then the United States – in the last two weeks alone that’s jobs saved, faster growth and wages rising.
“More money in the pockets of British working people, achieved through striking deals not striking poses.
“Tomorrow, we take another step forward, with yet more benefits for the United Kingdom as the result of a strengthened partnership with the European Union.”
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Conservative leader Kemi Badenoch has said she is “worried” about what the PM might have negotiated.
Ms Badenoch – who has promised to rip up the deal with the EU if it breaches her red lines on Brexit – said: “Labour should have used this review of our EU trade deal to secure new wins for Britain, such as an EU-wide agreement on Brits using e-gates on the continent.
“Instead, it sounds like we’re giving away our fishing quotas, becoming a rule-taker from Brussels once again and getting free movement by the back door. This isn’t a reset, it’s a surrender.”
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