Schoolgirl Holly Newton was due to meet police to discuss being stalked by her killer on the day she died – but had ‘begged’ her mother to let her go into town instead.
A 17-year-old boy who was found guilty of murder today had stalked Holly before stabbing her to death in an alleyway in an attack so fierce it snapped the knife.
Keen dancer Holly, who was just 15, was on her way home from school and was doing some shopping with her friends in Hexham, Northumberland in January 2023.
The night before she was killed, her mother was so worried that she contacted the police about the boy at 9:40pm, as he had turned up uninvited at their home in Haltwhistle.
Officers arranged to go and meet the mother and daughter at 4pm the next day, but the appointment was pushed back to 8pm as Holly ‘pleaded with her mother to let her go out with friends’ after school.
The circumstances were so severe that it was agreed Holly shouldn’t leave school if the teenager was outside.
She was ‘extremely nervous’ about him turning up, but when there was no sign of him she went shopping with her friends – unaware of the boy tailing her.
But she was being followed by the obsessed teenager – who was 16 at the time – for around 45 minutes as he tailed them around the town centre, ‘careful not to be seen’ before he murdered her.
Holly Newton was stabbed to death in an alley in Hexham, Northumberland in January 2023
In an unusual step, the judge invited Micala Trussler to pay tribute to her daughter before the jury dispersed, so they had a better picture of the kind of girl she was
Micala Trussler, the mother of schoolgirl Holly Newton, speaks outside Newcastle Crown Court after her killer was found guilty of murder today
Holly’s mother Micala Trussler wrote on Facebook that the teenager had ‘loved animals’
The knife used during the attack was snapped in the process
Floral tributes and messages were left at the scene following the attack
He was lurking at a bus stop when he asked to speak to her and launched at the girl in a savage attack with a kitchen knife and stabbed her ‘many, many times’
Holly’s grieving mother Micala Trussler told the BBC: ‘He has ruined our lives and he took Holly’s.’
She said her daughter had ‘begged’ her to go into town that day instead of meeting with the cops to discuss her stalker and heartbreakingly said: ‘In the end, [it was] the biggest mistake of my life.’
‘You look at people and think ‘how can you carry on with your life, my daughter’s died?’
The masked defendant had followed Holly, armed with a kitchen knife concealed in his trouser leg. He frequently stopped to hide and make fake phone calls in a bid to stay out of sight.
The killer was lurking at a bus stop when he asked to speak to her and launched at Holly in the savage attack and stabbed her ‘many, many times’.
He left her with 36 injuries after stabbing her 12 times, slashing her 19 times, and causing five ‘defensive’ injuries in a frenzy which snapped the knife.
He also stabbed her boyfriend, a 16-year-old boy, before members of the public tried to intervene.
The defendant, who cannot be named because of his age, admitted manslaughter but denied murder, claiming his mind went blank that day and that he had only intended to take his own life.
But a jury at Newcastle Crown Court found him guilty of murder today.
He will be sentenced during a two-day hearing at the same court on October 31.
Friends and family have described Holly Olivia as a ‘beautiful’ girl who loved to dance
In an unusual step, the judge invited Ms Trussler to pay tribute to her ‘funny and happy’ daughter before the jury dispersed, so they had a better picture of the kind of girl she was.
Mr Justice Hilliard said: ‘The focus has been about the defendant in this trial and you have only heard his view of Holly.
‘Before you depart, I wanted you to have a more complete understanding of her and what she was like.’
Hospitality manager Ms Trussler stepped out of the public gallery and described how her ‘beautiful child’ loved her family, sport, animals and dancing.
She said: ‘She grew into a happy teenager who would do anything for anyone.’
‘At school Holly was a quiet student who just got on with her work. There was never a bad report from her teachers.
‘When Holly started at the Queen Elizabeth High School in Hexham she felt like she belonged, she had such a tight-knit group of friends who were always there for each other.’
Her cat Maxi miaowed every morning to be let into her room, Ms Trussler said.
‘To this day, Maxi still does this, however Holly isn’t there to open the door,’ she said.
The judge said: ‘It is the kind of devastation that knives leave in their wake when people carry them and use them.’
Shortly after the tragic attack, Ms Trussler responded to a Facebook post from the injured boy’s older brother, saying: ‘Holly was so excited about her new relationship with your brother! I can never thank him enough for trying to save my baby girl.’
Holly Newton was stabbed with a kitchen knife 36 times resulting in her death
The defendant tailed his victim through the town for around 45 minutes before the attack
Family and friends laid messages, floral tributes and teddy bears in memory of Holly
One tribute read: ‘To our baby Holly. Our hearts hurt so much right now. We love you so much’
Specialist search team pictured carrying out their investigation at the scene at the time
One message left by loved one reads: ‘All our love to the most beautiful girl in the world. We will miss you forever Holly’
Newcastle Crown Court previously heard the defendant say he may not be an entirely bad person as he ‘helps baby birds and stuff’.
Mere hours before the fatal ambush, Holly sent a chilling message to her friend about the teenager.
She texted: ‘Apparently [the boy] is gonna meet to me outside of school. So he’s basically stalking me at this point. He’s gonna follow me until I talk to him’.
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Jurors were told that the teenager followed her around the town centre for 45 minutes as she went shopping with her friends.
He lurked at a bus stop when she went to order a pizza and then asked to speak to her, the court heard.
Prosecutor David Brook said: ‘CCTV in the town centre shows that shortly before 4pm [the teenager] was following those three, at a distance.
‘It is quite clear he was being careful not to be seen by them for the next 45 minutes or so. What Holly didn’t know is he had a knife with him.’
Holly had ventured into town believing she was safe because she thought he was 23 miles away in Newcastle, it was heard.
The attack in the alleyway wasn’t captured on CCTV but Holly’s boyfriend ‘heard her screaming’ and ran to help before he was also stabbed, prosecutors said.
Jurors were told he saw her on the ground and pulled the attacker off in a ‘headlock’ but the teenager then turned on him with the knife.
Passers-by and people in the shop bravely entered the fray and the killer teenager was ‘forcibly pulled off Holly while still stabbing her’.
Both Holly and her boyfriend were taken to the Royal Victoria Infirmary, in Newcastle, but sadly the schoolgirl could not be saved.
The boy required surgery after his shoulder, arm and thigh were injured.
After stabbing Holly, the youth briefly started to cry then said ‘Oh, what have I done?’, while claiming she had been ‘awful’ to him, the court heard.
Giving evidence by video link, the teenager told jurors he could not remember stabbing the girl but recalled getting a bus to Hexham and some parts of walking around the town.
Nigel Edwards KC, defending, asked him: ‘The night that Holly died, when you go to Hexham, what is it you want to do?’
The defendant replied: ‘It wasn’t for going there to hurt her or kill her, it wasn’t for that.’
Asked what he had wanted to happen that day, he added: ‘To try and take my own life.’
The funeral cortege for Holly Newton at it arrived at Hexham Abbey in Hexham, Northumberland, on February 17, 2023
Some mourners had left messages for Holly on their flowers at the funeral
Holly’s funeral order of service reads: Death will be no more, I am making all things new
Holly’s white coffin was carried into the Abbey by her grieving family members
Holly coffin was pulled by four black horses draped in purple jackets at her funeral
Holly’s school said at the time: ‘We are devastated at the loss of Holly, a truly lovely student who was quiet, conscientious, helpful and kind.’
Kerry Whitfield, owner of Lightning Dance Academy in Consett which Holly attended, said: ‘It’s such a shock. Holly was at a dance practice on Thursday night. She was a lovely girl, always helpful in class with a great sense of humour.’
Holly’s mother made a statement outside Newcastle Crown Court in which she thanked the jury.
She said: ‘To think that Holly should have been collecting her GCSE exam results last week, but instead our baby girl’s future was cruelly taken away from her.
‘We are grateful to the many people who have shown their support as we continue to navigate a life without Holly in it.’
Chief Superintendent Sam Rennison, also speaking outside court, said: ‘I also want to pay tribute to the bravery of the boy who was attacked while coming to the aid of his friend.’
She praised Holly’s family and the other victim’s relatives for the ‘incredible strength and patience’ they showed during the seven-week trial.
Speaking of the killer, Ms Rennison said: ‘His life and those of his loved ones have also been changed forever by the decisions he made that night.
‘Violence has absolutely no place in society and as a force we are committed to working with partners to tackle such offending.’
Lynsey Colling, Head of the Crown Court Unit for CPS North East, said: ‘The killing of Holly Newton has been utterly devastating for her family and our focus throughout this case has been to ensure that the person responsible was brought to justice for his actions.
‘A significant challenge for us in the early stages of the case was to establish the defendant’s fitness to plead, which had been raised as an issue by the defence.
‘The Crown instructed specialist psychologists, whose independent assessments persuaded the court that the defendant did, in fact, have the capacity to enter pleas and to stand trial for the allegations made against him’
‘Today’s outcome is the result of effective partnership working between the Crown Prosecution Service and Northumbria Police from the very early stages of this investigation.
‘Our thoughts remain with Holly’s family, for whom this remains a particularly difficult time, and we only hope that Holly’s family can take some measure of comfort in seeing her killer brought to justice.’