Dylan Holliday: Murder accused carried knives aged 13, jury hears

Dylan Holliday was pronounced dead at Northampton General Hospital after being stabbed

A boy accused of murdering a teenager "was constantly carrying knives from the age of 13", a court heard.

Dylan Holliday, 16, died after being stabbed 13 times in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire, in August 2021.

A 17-year-old defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was in the care of social workers at the time of the attack, jurors were told.

He and another teenager deny murdering Dylan and the attempted murder of another teen.

Coventry Crown Court previously heard that one of the defendants had used a knife on the two teenagers.

Opening the defence case for the teenager, who the court heard stabbed Dylan, Ben Aina QC said "nothing could erase the pain of that day" and that it was not his job to make excuses for his client.

But Mr Aina told the jury it was important to understand the defendant's background when coming to conclusions about his mental state.

Giving evidence, Lucy Dodd from Northamptonshire Children's Trust said the boy had opened up to her about his childhood after she became his social worker.

She said "he often referred to how he hadn't eaten for days on end" while being looked after by his father in Jamaica.

She told the jury the boy said his father punched him and once attacked him with a machete, leaving a scar "like a burn mark at the top of his arm".

Ms Dodd said that after the defendant returned from Jamaica, she used to take him to visit his grandmother and described him as a "very loving grandson".

"He needed extra support to understand things, and because of that I think he's quite an easily-exploited young person," she said.

Dylan Holliday died after being stabbed on the Queensway estate

Cross-examining Ms Dodd, prosecutor Peter Joyce QC referred to a report by social services in 2017, which said the boy was "associated with gangs, carrying weapons, smoking drugs and skipping school".

It added that he "appeared to be out of control".

Further reports detailed incidents in which the defendant witnessed a friend being shot and on another occasion spoke about using a "Rambo knife" after being punched to the ground.

"From his records, including while you were his social worker, it was obvious he was carrying knives," Mr Joyce said.

Ms Dodd replied: "Yes, it was in Wellingborough."

Mr Joyce asked: "Was it your main concern that he was a boy that was out of control that constantly carried a knife?"

"It was one of my main concerns," she said.

"In my presence I never felt he had a knife on him - I never observed him walking in a different manner that would indicate that he had a knife down his trouser leg."

Prosecutors said both defendants were wearing balaclavas and had planned to attack Dylan.

The trial continues.