Teen murderer who stabbed girl 30 times in street unmasked as her ‘jealous’ ex --[Reported by Umva mag]

A ‘jealous’ teenager who stabbed his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend to death in the street after stalking her because he could not accept their relationship was over can now be named.

A judge lifted a reporting restriction which prevented the media from saying that Logan MacPhail, now 17, had been convicted of murdering Holly Newton in Hexham, Northumberland, in January 2023.

Previous reports could only refer anonymously to the juvenile defendant who stalked Holly as she walked around the town centre with friends before he launched a frenzied attack in an alleyway, stabbing or slashing her 36 times with a kitchen knife he had taken from home.

MacPhail was convicted of murder following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court in August, but the reporting restriction prevented the media from saying the attacker was Holly’s ex-boyfriend, because publishing that could lead to him being identified, and he was still a child.

The judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, lifted the reporting restriction, even though MacPhail will not turn 18 – when such an order would normally lapse – until December this year.

He ruled that the public should know the murderer’s identity so as to better understand what happened, particularly in the light of the national debates about knife crime and violence against women.

He said: ‘The defendant has been convicted of grave crimes which are of local and national concern.

‘The defendant went to the victim’s home address against her wishes and later followed her after she had left her school at the end of the day.

‘However, at present the public are not aware of a key factor in the case, which is the nature of the relationship between the defendant and his victim.

‘They had been in a relationship but she did not wish it to continue.

‘This has rightly not been reported lest it might identify him, but it is impossible to have a full and proper understanding of the case and of why the defendant behaved as he did without knowing this factor.

‘The defendant’s identity must also be known already within the different communities where he and the victim lived and were at school.

‘There is great public concern about murders by young people who have carried knives in public places and about violence to women and girls.

‘Legitimate debate is assisted by knowing who has committed such offences and their circumstances and the full detail of the offences in question.

‘In my judgment, on the specific facts of this case, there are very strong reasons why, in the interests of open justice, the public should now have a full and proper understanding of such a serious crime and all of the circumstances in which it was committed.’

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