Teen who stabbed girl caught with knife at school

Holly Newton was 15 when she was killed

A teenage boy accused of murdering a 15-year-old girl had previously been caught with a knife in his bag at school, a court heard.

The 17-year-old, who cannot be named because of his age, has admitted the manslaughter of Holly Newton in Hexham, but denies her murder.

He told Newcastle Crown Court he had been using the knife to self-harm.

As a result, he had to have his bag checked and his arms checked for marks at school, he said.

Holly died after being repeatedly stabbed in an alleyway in the Northumberland market town in January last year.

'Try to manage'

The defendant, who was 16 at the time, had previously told the court that, when he went to Hexham that day, he did not intend to hurt Holly but had planned to hurt himself.

He told the court he would cut his arms to try to "manage everything".

"There was a point where I started going into school and I had to get my arms checked and my bag checked," he said.

When asked why by Nigel Edwards KC, defending, he replied: "I got caught one day at school with a Stanley knife cutting myself on the arm."

The court was also shown CCTV footage of the defendant getting the bus to Hexham and walking around the town before Holly was killed.

The trial continues.