Jury goes home in 15-year-old girl murder trial

Holly Newton had complained of the boy "stalking her" hours before she was killed

A jury has gone home after the first day of deliberations in the murder trial of a 15-year-old girl.

Holly Newton was repeatedly stabbed in an alleyway in Hexham, Northumberland, in January 2023.

A 17-year-old boy, who was 16 at the time and cannot be identified, has admitted manslaughter but denies murder.

The boy told Newcastle Crown Court his mind was "blank" at the time of the attack and said he had been carrying a knife to harm himself.

The murder trial had heard the boy, who has been diagnosed with autism, followed Holly after she finished school on 27 January 2023 before stabbing her in an alley beside a pizza shop at about 17:00 BST.