Logan MacPhail of Birtley named as Holly Newton's killer

MacPhail, now 17, from Birtley, was recently convicted of Holly’s murder, which took place in Hexham in January last year.

A jury at the court also found MacPhail guilty of wounding another teenager with intent, both verdicts delivered following a six-week trial at the court, on August 29.

(Image: Northumbria Police) The wounded teenager was attacked by the defendant when he tried to go to Holly’s aid, after MacPhail began a frenzied knife attack on her, in an alleyway off Priestpopple, in the centre of the Northumberland market town.

Holly,15, from Haltwhistle, in Northumberland, died later in hospital from multiple stab wounds inflicted by MacPhail, in an attack he claimed he could not recall.

(Image: Northumbria Police) The court heard that MacPhail was angry with Holly after she had broken off their relationship of about 18 months, facts which the media have previously been unable to report because of the risk of breaching restrictions.

Throughout the proceedings, MacPhail, who was 16 at the time of the killing, has been the subject of an order preventing the reporting of anything that leads to him being identified as the defendant in the case, while he remains under the age of 18.

But with MacPhail’s two-day sentencing hearing looming at the end of this month, and his 18th birthday only two months away, the trial judge, Mr Justice Nicholas Hilliard, today agreed to an application for “an excepting direction” to lift the reporting restrictions.

Giving his judgement, he said: “Given the specific facts of this case, there are very strong reasons why in the interests of open justice the public should now have a full and proper understanding of such a serious crime and of all the circumstances in which it was committed.”

He concluded: “I am satisfied that there should be an excepting direction to remove the reporting restrictions because they impose a substantial and unreasonable restriction on the reporting of the proceedings, and it is in the public interest to remove them.”

The judge said the defendant was convicted of, “grave crimes which are of local and national concern.”

He said: “The defendant went to the victim’s home address against her wishes and later followed her after she had left her school at the end of the day.

“However, at present, the public are not aware of a key factor in the case which is the nature of the relationship between the defendant and his victim.

“They had been in a relationship, but she did not wish it to continue.

“This has rightly not been reported lest it might identify him, but it is impossible to have a full and proper understanding of the case and of why the defendant behaved as he did without knowing this factor.”

Despite living more than 40 miles apart and attending different schools, MacPhail and Holly met when both attended the Army Cadets, in Consett, County Durham.

They had been in a relationship for about 18 months, but about a week before her death Holly ended the relationship, over which the court heard that MacPhail wanted “answers”.

He even went to her Haltwhistle home, standing outside on a frozen January night, on the pretext he was seeking the return of computer games equipment, less than 24 hours before the murder.

MacPhail was taken home after police were called by Holly’s concerned family, but the following day he left his school in Gateshead at lunch-time, claiming he was going home to get some sleep after his late night in Haltwhistle.

(Image: Northumbria Police) Instead, armed with a knife taken from home in his school bag, he took a bus from Gateshead to Hexham, on the afternoon of January 27, last year.

Concealing his identity with a face covering, he went on to follow Holly and two friends after they left school in Hexham, adopting “stalking” techniques learned at the cadets.

But after passing her at a bus stand in Priestpopple, while a school friend of Holly was in a nearby pizza shop, MacPhail began talking to her.

(Image: North News) She reluctantly agreed to join him down an alleyway, supposedly to discuss the break-up.

It was there that the fatal attack took place, only ending after passers-by and people from the pizza shop intervened.

Despite medical attention at the scene and en-route to hospital, she was pronounced dead shortly after arrival at Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary.

MacPhail admitted manslaughter and possessing a knife in public, but denied murder and wounding with intent, claiming his mind went blank when he was in the alleyway with Holly while holding the knife.

See more court stories from The Northern Echo by clicking here

Teenager found guilty of murdering Holly Newton in Hexham

Mum of murdered Holly Newton pays tribute to her in court

Teenager accused of Holly Newton murder continues to give evidence

Flash Sale Alert! 🌟 Dive deeper into the stories that shape County Durham with The Northern Echo Unlimited local news, an ad-free app, and a digital replica of our print edition—all with 80% fewer ads on our site. Subscribe now for a faster news experience. #StayInformed. For details, click here

But he was found guilty of both, after more than two days’ deliberation by the jury, on August 29.

Upon conviction, the judge told MacPhail the only sentence for someone of his age would be detention at His Majesty’s pleasure, the length of which will be decided at a sentencing hearing on October 31 and November 1.

MacPhail remains remanded to a secure unit in County Durham in the meantime.