Image source, Family handout

Thank you for joining us for the coverage of the sentencing at Newcastle Crown Court of Logan MacPhail, who murdered 15-year-old Holly Newton in Hexham in January 2023.

The 17-year-old carried out the "vicious and brutal" stabbing fuelled by his "resentment and jealousy" after she ended their abusive relationship, a judge has said.

MacPhail, from Birtley in Gateshead, has been detained for life with a minimum term of 17 years, with another five years to be served concurrently for intentionally wounding another youth who tried to break up the attack.

Holly's mother Micala Trussler (pictured with Holly above) says her daughter was a domestic abuse victim and is calling for better education for young people about healthy relationships.

For help and support around issues raised, please visit BBC Action Line.

Image source, Family handout

Towards the end of his sentencing remarks, Mr Justice HIlliard says he takes account of the fact the relationship with Holly was "especially important" to MacPhail against the background of his chaotic home life.

"Your speech impediment affected your ability to establish relationships and friendships with others and so you set particular store by your relationship with her," the judge says, adding: "This made its ending all the more difficult for you to process and work through."

He says MacPhail has also expressed remorse yet still sought to blame Holly in some way.

"It was clear in your evidence to the jury that you have persuaded yourself that Holly had treated you badly," the judge tells MacPhail, adding: "Your first reaction at the scene was to say that she had been horrible to you and I think that this belief tempers or reduces somewhat the amount of remorse you feel."

Much was made before and during the trial of MacPhail's learning difficulties, which included an autism spectrum disorder diagnosis, and traumas he experienced through being exposed to domestic abuse throughout his childhood.

While taking account of that, Mr Justice Hilliard says those and MacPhail's low IQ "did not impair" his "ability to exercise appropriate judgment".

The judge adds: "I do not regard you as always reliable in your account of events and I am satisfied that you have exaggerated your account of symptoms you experienced on occasions, particularly on the day of the offence."

The judge notes that MacPhail resumed the attack on Holly even after he was stopped by the youth, who was stabbed four times as he tried to intervene.

He said attacking the other boy, for which MacPhail was found guilty of an intentional wounding charge was a "serious offence", adding: "One of the reasons for committing it was so that you would be able to continue a fatal attack upon another person."

The judges adds: "Holly was a child. Although you were not an adult, she was no match for you armed with a knife.

"She had severe injuries caused as she sought to defend herself from the knife.

"She must have realised before she died, I am afraid, that she was fighting for her life."

CCTV footage of MacPhail stalking Holly through Hexham before he attacked her has been released by police.

Mr Justice Hilliard says MacPhail knew Holly did not want to see him and he should have stayed away from her.

"She was entitled to break off the relationship if she wanted to and to spend time with whoever else she chose," the judge says, adding: "You had been told by your mother, sister and Holly’s friend that, in effect, you should leave her alone.

"You knew very well that you should not have gone to Hexham and that Holly would not like it which is why you pretended to other people that you were in Newcastle.

"You said you knew that Holly would probably 'freak out' as you put it if you went up to her and tapped her on the back.

"You knew she was with other people and she was choosing not to take your calls.

"I am sure you knew as well from the involvement of the police the night before [who took him home from outside Holly's house] that you were taking matters too far."

Mr Justice Hilliard says there "is only one sentence for the crime of murder" when committed by a youth "a sentence of detention during His Majesty’s Pleasure".

He says it is the "equivalent" to "imprisonment for life for an adult" and he sets the minimum term MacPhail must serve before being considered for release by the parole board.

"There is no saying that you would necessarily be released at that stage," the judge tells him, adding: "You could only be released if it was safe to do so.

"So that is why you must try as hard as you can to behave well and to make progress."

The minimum term was set at 17 years, with MacPhail having already served 641 days of that while being held on remand.

This is the moment Logan MacPhail was arrested in Hexham for the murder of Holly Newton.

Image source, Northumbria Police

Detailing the attack in the alley, Mr Justice Hilliard says it was "vicious and brutal".

He listed Holly's multiple injuries to her torso, head and face which caused catastrophic and "unsurvivable" blood loss.

"The force you used was so great that the knife broke and the blade was bent out of shape," the judge tells MacPhail, adding: "The pathologist said that seeing a knife so damaged was incredibly rare."

MacPhail was pulled away by passers-by and arrested at the scene.

Image source, Northumbria Police

Mr Justice Hilliard says MacPhail told multiple lies in the run up to the attack.

These included telling his school in Gateshead he wanted to leave early at lunchtime as he was "very tired", with the judge saying actually MacPhail was intending at that point to go to Hexham.

He also lied by saying he wanted to give Holly some of her possessions back when in fact he had none of them with him.

Knowing Holly was worried about seeing him, MacPhail also lied to her friends when he told them he was in Newcastle when actually he had got the bus to Hexham (as pictured above).

"I am sure that you were thinking clearly and were deliberately laying false trails about where you were," the judge says.

The night before killing Holly, MacPhail went to Haltwhistle and asked to see Holly.

"Holly was not in and had told you not to come," the judge says, adding: "She did not answer your calls.

"Her mother had very wisely told her that the kindest thing was to stop all contact."

MacPhail messaged a sibling of Holly's and asked to be let into her home to get a PlayStation 2 back.

The judge says: "I am sure that it could have been returned in other ways, that there was no urgency about it and it was simply an excuse you used because you wished to spend time with Holly to see if the relationship could be resumed."

Ultimately MacPhail did not see Holly and was taken home by police.

Mr Justice Hilliard says MacPhail's and Holly's relationship had its "ups and downs" but "nothing out of the ordinary".

He says Holly said their relationship was over in early January 2023 but MacPhail realised "this time she meant it for good".

"You were not able to accept that," the judge tells MacPhail, adding: "You were obsessed with Holly and by your desire to resume the relationship."

In his sentencing remarks, Judge Mr Justice Hilliard praises the "forbearance and dignity" of Holly's family.

He says there is "no end in sight" for their "pain and suffering" and the trial, which ran for several weeks in July and August, was a "long process" for them.

"By their great dignity and forbearance whilst at court, they have honoured Holly’s memory," the judge says.

"On 27 January 2023, the day that Holly died, their lives changed forever," he says, adding: "All those years ahead for a 15-year-old girl that she and they will never see."

We have just received the judge's sentencing remarks in full, which run to more than 5,300 words.

As we have detailed earlier, he talks about Holly and the impact of her death, as well as MacPhail and his motivations.

He also commends the bravery of the youth who was stabbed four times while trying to stop the attack as well as other passers-by who ran in to haul MacPhail away and try and give first aid to Holly.

We will go through it and share some of the other points made by Mr Justice Hilliard that we did not report earlier.

The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it went to great lengths to prove MacPhail was fit to stand trial and be held responsible for Holly's "devastating" death.

Lynsey Colling, deputy chief crown prosecutor in the North East, said despite defence claims to the contrary, it was clear MacPhail did "possess sufficient" mental and emotional ability to face trial.

"The CPS instructed psychiatrists to provide reports upon Logan, to assist the court in determining if he was fit to plead and to stand trial for the allegations made against him," Ms Colling said.

"Crucially, those assessments also showed that MacPhail possessed the capacity to have formed the required intent to prove the murder charge," she added.

Speaking after the sentencing, Det Sgt Darren Davies of Northumbria Police said it was a "truly devastating case" with "Holly's future cruelly taken away" by MacPhail.

"Of course, nothing will ever reverse the tragic events of that evening," Mr Davies said, adding: "But I hope the result today will bring her loved ones a sense of closure so they can attempt to move forward.

"So many lives have been changed forever by the decisions he made that night – and now he will have plenty of time to think about that in his cell.

"We would urge everyone to look at the pain this incident has caused to so many people – and think twice before carrying a weapon of any kind."

Image source, Family handout

During his sentencing remarks, Mr Justice Hilliard said a number of things about Holly.

These included:

• The value of her life was "beyond measure" and no sentence could ever compensate for or right the wrong of her death
• She was a "beautiful child" who grew into a "happy and funny teenager who would do anything for anyone"
• Holly "loved all types of sport" and was an especially keen dancer
• She was a "quiet" student who "never had a bad report"
• She was "passionate" about her family, loved her pet cat and had a "small and tight-knit group of friends"
• Holly and her family had had many years ahead which they would "never see"

In the wake of Holly's murder, Northumbria Police have also sought to raise awareness among parents and teenagers about toxic relationships.

Det Sgt Darren Davies, who worked on the investigation which ended with MacPhail's conviction, said: "It's quite clear that as generations and technologies change, children are often far more involved in each other's lives and their relationships are far more intense than they were when I was 14, 15 or 16.

"There needs to be parental, teacher and societal conversations around the intensity of teenage relationships to make sure that teenagers are aware of what's healthy and what's not, around contact, friends, passwords and access to each other's social media and friend groups.

"Parents need to be a lot more aware because these things can happen.

"There needs to be more done around healthy relationships with teenagers to make them aware of where boundaries are and where boundaries should be at such a young age."

Image source, Family handout

Holly's mother Micala Trussler has also been speaking out about the domestic abuse she says her daughter suffered at the hands of MacPhail.

She said Holly "felt sorry" for MacPhail due to his learning difficulties and speech impediment, but he used "emotional blackmail" to keep them together.

"He was obsessed with her for a long time," Ms Trussler said, adding: "He didn't like her to go out. He didn't want her to go out with her friends. He needed to know where she was all the time, even if she was just at home. He wanted to know what she was doing.

"There was just a lot of controlling behaviour going on."

Mss Trussler said because of her young age, the legal system did not consider that her daughter had been a victim of domestic abuse.

But the family was sure that MacPhail, then aged 16, exercised coercive control over Holly, even though they did not live together.

Ms Trussler said Holly told her that MacPhail had once warned her that "if he couldn't have her, then nobody could".

The grieving mother said: "What we didn't know is he meant it."

Holly and her parents were actually due to meet police to discuss their fears about MacPhail but there was a tragic twist of fate.

After MacPhail turned up at their home in Haltwhistle uninvited and demanding to speak to Holly on the night of 26 January, Holly's mother Micala Trussler (pictured above with her partner Lee) contacted Northumbria Police.

A meeting was scheduled for about 16:00 GMT on 27 January but Holly begged for it to be pushed back so she could go out with her friends after school instead.

Micala recalled how MacPhail had restricted her movements during their relationship and how Holly just wanted to be able to go round the shops with her mates, so Micala agreed to push the meeting back until the evening.

It was to be the "biggest mistake" of her life, Micala said, with Holly killed hours before the rescheduled meeting was due to take place.

You can read more about it here.