Logan MacPhail, 16 at the time, has been identified as the murderer of 15-year-old Holly Newton, his ex-girlfriend, after a reporting restriction was lifted by a judge just weeks before his 18th birthday.
MacPhail, consumed by jealousy after Holly ended their relationship, stalked her before launching a violent attack in an alleyway in Hexham, stabbing her to death with a kitchen knife.
Holly suffered 36 injuries, while a teenage boy who tried to intervene was also stabbed but survived after emergency surgery. MacPhail was convicted of murder in August, and the full details of his crime, fuelled by obsessive jealousy, have now been made public.
The Newcastle Crown Court heard that Holly and MacPhail had been in a turbulent relationship for 18 months, and MacPhail struggled to cope with their breakup.
His actions were premeditated, as he followed Holly and her friends before convincing her to speak to him in private, where he carried out the fatal attack.
Despite his claims of a “mental blank” during the incident, the prosecution successfully argued he was fully aware of his actions. Holly’s mother, devastated by the loss, called it “the biggest mistake” of her life for allowing her daughter to go out that evening instead of meeting with the police to discuss MacPhail’s stalking behaviour. MacPhail is set to be sentenced later this month.
