Killed schoolgirl suffered multiple knife wounds

Holly Newton was killed in Hexham in January 2023

A 15-year-old girl allegedly murdered by a teenage boy had suffered multiple knife wounds, a court has heard.

Holly Newton was repeatedly stabbed in an alley in the centre of Hexham, Northumberland, at about 17:00 GMT on 27 January 2023, Newcastle Crown Court has heard.

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

Pathologist Dr Jennifer Bolton said some of Holly's 36 knife injuries would have needed "severe force" and her cause of death was "catastrophic blood loss".

The court has heard Holly complained of the boy stalking her and he had secretly followed her for about 45 minutes through Hexham before the fatal attack next to Pizza Pizza on Priestpopple.

The youth told police he had been trying to kill himself and went "blank" during the attack, which was broken up by teenager, a dog walker and a delivery driver from the pizza shop.

Holly was attacked with a kitchen knife which the boy had taken from his home and which snapped during the stabbing, the court heard.

The knife snapped during the attack

Dr Bolton, a Home Office-accredited forensic pathologist, said she carried out a post-mortem examination of Holly the day after she was killed.

She detailed 36 injuries all caused by a knife, including a stab wound to Holly's face, three to her head and several through her back.

Dr Bolton said there were 12 stab wounds in total, five so-called "defensive wounds" on Holly hands and 19 other cuts all caused by the knife.

She said one of the stabbings cut the jugular veins behind Holly's shoulder blade which would have been an "unsurvivable" injury and caused the catastrophic blood loss leading to her death.

Another had pierced her lung, the court heard.

The pathologist said she "could not say in absolute terms" how much force was used, but the minimum amount needed to cause some of the injuries was "severe at least".

The court heard Holly fell unconscious during the attack and was declared dead about an hour and a half later at hospital.

The defendant also denies wounding another youth who was injured while trying to save Holly.

The trial continues.