Two-day sentencing of Holly Newton's teenage murderer Logan MacPhail begins at Newcastle Crown Court
by David Huntley · ChronicleLiveThe two-day sentencing of Holly Newton's teenage murderer has begun.
Jealous Logan MacPhail was unhappy his relationship with 15-year-old Holly had ended and travelled to Hexham, where she was at school, armed with a knife on Friday, January 27 last year. He then followed Holly for around 45 minutes, before approaching her as she waited in a bus stop outside a pizza shop.
MacPhail, 16 at the time and now 17 , of Birtley, Gateshead, then persuaded Holly to go into a nearby alley to talk, where he launched a frenzied knife attack which killed her. She sustained 36 knife wounds.
Earlier this month, reporting restrictions were lifted, meaning Logan MacPhail could be named as Holly's former boyfriend and murderer. Following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court, jurors found MacPhail guilty of murdering Holly and wounding another youth with intent when they went to her aid. On Thursday, the first day of sentencing began at the court, with MacPhail appearing via link.
Prosecutor, David Brooke KC, told the court it will want to consider if there was a significant degree of pre-meditation or planning in the “brutal attack”, which lasted over a minute. The court heard Holly sustained injuries to her hands, which were inflicted while defending herself from the blows. Mr Brooke said despite MacPhail’s low IQ, his “function, in fact, is quite a lot higher than suggested by the defence…”
The court also heard a victim impact statement from Micala Trussler, Holly's mother. She said: "We will never know Holly as an adult, this year she should have been collecting her GCSE results and preparing for a prom. We will never get to see her walk down the aisle or meet her children. Logan has taken away her future and ours, we will never get to see Holly grow into a beautiful young woman.
"By the time Logan has served his sentence he will still be able to start a family and enjoy his life, everything that Holly can’t do because of his mindless, selfish actions. He stabbed my daughter 36 times, in her head, chest and back. The pain she must have suffered breaks my heart to even imagine."
Defence barrister, Nigel Edwards addressed the court and said he submitted that MacPhail was carrying a knife for some other purpose. He said: “We say, for suicide or self harm.”
Mr Edwards said the attack was “fast moving” and that pre-meditation in his submission was limited and that the attack was carried out to cause grievous bodily harm and not to kill. He told the court there is evidence MacPhail has “some learning difficulties and ADHD” and was living in an environment that was “unconscionable for a child to be brought up in” and had suffered “significant difficulties” in childhood.
Mr Edwards added: “His improvement has been meteoric…he is able to play guitar and is learning piano. He is learning to read passages.” He said MacPhail was of previous good character.
The sentencing of MacPhail is due to conclude on Friday.
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