Murder accused 'only meant to cut boy's cheek'

Ahmad Mamdouh Al Ibrahim, 16, died after he was stabbed in Huddersfield

A man accused of fatally stabbing a 16-year-old Syrian refugee said he only intended to cut his cheek and "didn't believe it" when police told him he had died.

Alfie Franco, 20, of Kirkburton, denies the murder of Ahmad Mamdouh Al Ibrahim, who was stabbed in the neck on a shopping street in Huddersfield on 3 April.

Giving evidence at Leeds Crown Court, Mr Franco said he acted in self-defence after fearing Ahmad was going to attack him.

He said the pair exchanged words after Ahmad brushed past his girlfriend and he felt frightened. "I just wanted to cut him so I could get away," he said.

The court was shown CCTV of the incident, which showed Mr Franco and his then-girlfriend walking through the town centre eating ice cream.

After Ahmad walked past them with a friend, Mr Franco could be seen calling him back, the court heard.

Speaking about the incident, Mr Franco told the court: "He walked towards me and he wasn't stopping and I just wanted to do something to make him stop.

"He wasn't coming to give me a hug, he was coming to do something."

"I thought he was going to attack me," he told the hearing.

He told the court he took a knife out and extended his arm, but was aiming for Ahmad's cheek.

The attack caused "immediate and massive blood loss" and compromised Ahmad's ability to breathe, the court previously heard.

Mr Franco told the court he was frightened and acted in self-defence

Giving evidence, Det Con Ruth Whitborne from West Yorkshire Police said she reviewed Mr Franco's mobile phone and found photos of knives he had purchased.

One showed him holding the weapons in his bedroom with the caption "artillery coming on nice".

When asked by defence barrister Gill Batts KC why he had taken the photos, Mr Franco said they were to send to his friends in South Africa, where he used to live.

He said he had sent them to a group chat because he wanted to "look big".

There was also a short video found on his phone showing him in his bedroom holding the flick knife used to attack Ahmad, the court heard.

He later told police that he was carrying it for sentimentality as it was given to him by a family member - a fact he admitted in court was not true.

'In a nightmare'

Mr Franco told the court how he went home after the incident and spoke to his brother and his mother, before handing himself in to police.

When asked why, he said: "I thought it was the only option."

He said he was taken into custody at about 17:00 BST and police told him Ahmad had died a few hours later.

"I didn't believe it at the start, I thought I was in a nightmare," he said. "I didn't know what to think."

The court heard Mr Franco was born in Huddersfield but moved to South Africa with his family as a baby, before returning at the age of 13.

He said South Africa was "a beautiful place but it is quite dangerous", telling the court he had been mugged "countless times".

He admitted smoking cannabis an hour before the Huddersfield stabbing took place, as well as taking diazepam, ketamine and cocaine the day before.

Mr Franco denies murder but has admitted a charge of possessing a knife in a public place.

The trial continues.

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