Image source, Family handout

Holly was a 15-year-old girl from Haltwhistle who loved to dance.

Her mother Micala Trussler said she was a "caring and thoughtful young lady" and it was "no surprise" MacPhail would "fall" for her.

She said Holly tried to help MacPhail with his literacy, getting books out of the library to read with him.

Holly had a "strong sense of right and wrong" and was a "quiet" girl who found talking to strangers "awkward".

The pupil at Queen Elizabeth High School in Hexham was beloved by her three siblings and this year her biggest worries should have been getting her GCSE results and preparing for her prom.

Instead, her future had been "selfishly and mindlessly" taken away, Micala said, adding her daughter would never get married or have children, and her family would never be able to see her grow into a young woman.

Duncan Leatherdale
BBC News Online

During the trial at Newcastle Crown Court, 17-year-old Logan MacPhail had anonymity due to his age.

That meant we couldn’t report on important details and context, most notably the relationship between MacPhail and Holly which was key to understanding what had taken place.

After MacPhail was convicted the BBC asked the judge, Mr Justice Hilliard, for permission to name MacPhail and give the full background.

He agreed to lift the restrictions as MacPhail had been convicted of “grave crimes” which were of local and national concern.

He said the relationship between the young couple was a “key factor” in the killing but it was "impossible to have a full and proper understanding of the case and of why the defendant behaved as he did without knowing this factor".

Mr Justice Hilliard said there was "great public concern" about young people carrying knives and "violence to women and girls" and legitimate debate was aided by the public knowing the "full detail of the offences".

Holly’s parents say she was a victim of domestic abuse at the hands of MacPhail before the fatal attack.

Her mother Micala Trussler (pictured) said he wanted to control everything Holly did but nobody recognised the warning signs until it was too late.

The night before the killing, MacPhail turned up uninvited at Holly’s home in Haltwhistle and had to be taken home by police.

Ms Trussler arranged a meeting with police to discuss her concerns about the boy to be held on the afternoon of 27 January, but it was pushed back to the evening as Holly begged to be allowed to go out with her friends.

She was killed hours before the rescheduled meeting was due to take place.

Holly’s family say she should be legally recognised as a victim of an abusive partnership, although according to government policy only people aged over 16 can currently be classed as such.

MacPhail denied murdering Holly and wounding another teenage boy who tried to intervene in the attack, but did admit manslaughter.

He claimed his mind was “blank” at the time and he only meant to stab himself with the knife.

But when being cross-examined by prosecutors during the trial at Newcastle Crown Court, he admitted he was “angry” at Holly and intended to hurt her, although he later retracted that confession.

Jurors found him guilty of murder and wounding.

Image source, Family handout

On 27 January 2023, Holly had left school with her friends in Hexham when, unbeknown to her, she was secretly followed by MacPhail.

Days earlier she had split up with her on-off boyfriend of 18 months, and MacPhail was “jealous” that she may have moved on, the court heard.

He followed her for almost an hour, ducking in and out of doorways, as she visited shops and a leisure centre before he confronted her outside PizzaPizza on Priestpopple.

He coaxed her into an alleyway and, at about 17:00, launched a vicious attack using a kitchen knife he had brought from his home in Birtley, Gateshead.

He inflicted 36 stab and slash wounds, one of which caused catastrophic internal bleeding, with the blade snapping partway through the attack.

Holly, who lived in nearby Haltwhistle, was declared dead at hospital an hour and a half later.

Duncan Leatherdale
BBC News Online

Image source, Northumbria Police

Teenager Logan MacPhail (pictured) will be sentenced today for the murder of Holly Newton and we will bring you updates from the hearing as it happens.

He stalked and murdered the 15-year-old in Hexham, Northumberland, in January last year.

MacPhail was 16 at the time and stabbed his ex-girlfriend Holly dozens of times in an alleyway before passers-by pulled him away.

MacPhail is being sentenced by Mr Justice Hilliard at Newcastle Crown Court.