A New Year’s Eve reveller has been found guilty of the murder of a schoolboy who was stabbed to death while watching a fireworks display in London.
Areece Lloyd-Hall, now 18, was convicted at the Old Bailey on Wednesday of fatally stabbing 16-year-old Harry Pitman in the neck after a fight broke out between two groups of teenagers.
Lloyd-Hall attacked the youngster in front of revellers who had gathered on London’s Primrose Hill to watch fireworks over the River Thames on December 31, 2023.
The defendant, of west Kilburn, London, denied Harry’s murder and an alternative charge of manslaughter, claiming he had been acting in self-defence after Harry punched him.
He told the court: ‘I did not want him to lose his life. I feel horrible for what I caused. It was not my intention.’
Lloyd-Hall had the blade inside a sheath in his trousers and, when Harry hit him, he took out the knife and plunged it 15cm into his neck, his trial was told.
The killer, who was also 16 at the time, said he believed the knife was still in its sheath when he started fighting with Harry just metres away from uniformed police officers.
‘Lively and boisterous’ Harry was pronounced dead at the scene six minutes before the New Year.
Lloyd-Hall denied murder but was convicted on a majority verdict of 11 to 1 after seven hours and 48 minutes of deliberations. He will be sentenced on November 10.
The moment Lloyd-Hall was arrested was captured on police body cameras
Harry Pitman, 16, (pictured) who was fatally stabbed in north-west London on New Year’s Eve
Harry got into a fight with his killer after losing his balance and falling into another group on Primrose Hill, London
Lloyd-Hall had no previous convictions but had previously been referred to adolescent mental health services.
At the time of the stabbing he was suffering from cannabis-induced paranoia and may have had PTSD after witnessing an earlier stabbing and losing a friend to knife crime, the court was told.
Wearing a grey suit he showed no emotion as he was convicted of murdering Harry following a retrial, but there were audible gasps from his family in the public gallery.
Mr Justice Cavanagh told him: ‘Areece Lloyd-Hall, you will be returning to this court on 10 November, on which day I will sentence you. For now, you can go down with the prison officers.’
A jury in Lloyd-Hall’s first trial last September failed to reach a verdict.
Prosecutor Jocelyn Ledward, KC, earlier told the court how ‘New Year’s Eve revelry turned to tragedy in the blink of an eye’ when Lloyd-Hall stabbed Harry.
‘He died almost immediately, as a result of that single but deadly injury,’ she told the jury.
‘A single but deadly injury caused by a knife, a knife brought to the scene by the defendant who was only 16 at the time.
‘And it was Areece Lloyd-Hall who held that knife when that single but deadly injury was inflicted on Harry.’
The court heard that the two teenagers began fighting shortly after 11:30pm after Harry became unbalanced while playing a game and fell into another group.
Areece Lloyd-Hall, now 18, was convicted at the Old Bailey on Wednesday of fatally stabbing 16-year-old Harry Pitman
Lloyd-Hall stabbed Harry to death with a knife on New Year’s Eve. Pictured: The murder weapon
Police officers conduct a search on Primrose Hill in Camden, north London, the day after Harry was killed
Police officers conduct a fingertip search on Primrose Hill on New Year’s Day 2024
A witness told the court she saw a boy tap Harry on the head and push him before the teenager turned back to his friends and said: ‘Oh I’m gonna fight him.’
The court heard Harry then threw punches at the defendant’s friend and, when the boy fell to the floor, the defendant took a knife from his trousers.
‘That’s when he stabbed Harry in the neck,’ a female witness said.
She added: ‘When he got stabbed he’s still fighting so I didn’t really know if he got stabbed, he still punched him again and then [the defendant] ran.
‘I think (because of) the adrenaline he didn’t realise he’d actually got stabbed but once the boy ran he fell.’
One of Lloyd-Hall’s friends claimed Harry had punched him, briefly knocking him unconscious, before he was stabbed.
The stabbing was captured on video by a member of the public.
Ms Ledward said: ‘The video shows a scuffle between Harry and [the defendant’s friend] in which [the defendant’s friend] grabs Harry by the scruff of the neck and throws punches at him.
‘Harry threw punches back, the last of which appears to have connected to [the defendant’s friends] face or eye area.
‘Either as a result of that punch, or being pushed back by another young man, [the defendant’s friend] fell back and it’s clear he ended up lying on the ground.
People take part in a vigil in Downhills Park in the West Green area of Haringey, London, for 16-year-old Harry Pitman on January 2, 2024
‘Ten seconds into the recording, Areece came into view, pushing past [another boy], towards Harry and his friends, and seemingly knocking a female friend out of the way.
‘A witness describes him as holding his trousers and saying ‘wot wot wot wot wot’.
‘On the footage, Harry comes into view with his back to the camera.
‘Harry [and two friends] appear to confront Lloyd-Hall and his friend with the video clearly showing Harry pushing towards, and exchanging punches with the defendant’s friend, who can be seen falling backwards.’
Ms Ledward continued: ‘It is clear Harry and Areece are fighting. Harry appears to swing a punch towards Areece’s face.
‘Areece then brings his right arm upwards from his side in an arcing motion and down towards the top of Harry’s shoulder.
‘A light, slim, shiny object held in his right hand catches the light. The prosecution suggest that it must have been the knife.
‘Areece stabbed downwards to the left of Harry’s neck, at the junction between his neck and his left shoulder.
‘And as he does so, a long, slim black object flies through the air in an arc above their heads.
‘The prosecution suggest that this must have been, and there is no dispute about this, that this was the knife sheath or scabbard.’
After the incident the defendant fled the scene, discarding the knife, his clothes and mobile phone.
The knife scabbard was left behind and was found to have the defendant’s DNA on it.
CCTV showed Lloyd-Hall entering a car park at 11.40pm and remaining there until midnight. He claimed he had not left the knife in the car park but had given it back to a friend.
The weapon was never found by police, but the teenager admitted it was a ‘hunting style’ knife with a razor sharp edge on both sides.
Images of Lloyd-Hall were circulated in the media on 4 January 2024 and the boy went to the police station with his father later that day.
Lloyd-Hall, who the court heard has been diagnosed with ADHD, initially denied stabbing Harry but later said he had ‘accidentally’ knifed him.
He claimed he did now know how the knife became unsheathed in his hand and insisted he was just trying to stop Harry attacking him.
He told jurors he always carried a knife as he had been paranoid after a spate of recent knife attacks in his area, and that in June 2023 his friend was stabbed to death outside his college.
Before the stabbing he had smoked cannabis which made his paranoia worse and drunk a small amount of alcohol.
Lloyd-Hall claimed a mugger tried to steal his phone just before Christmas 2023 and he had stopped them by showing them the knife handle.
He said he was scared for his friends when he saw Harry punch one of the group so he decided to show them the handle of his knife.
Lloyd-Hall said Harry then punched him in the face.
He said: ‘I remember stepping back after feeling something and seeing the knife unsheathed in my hand.’
Lloyd-Hall, of West Kilburn, London, denied but was convicted of murder.
