The High Court judge who presided over the trial of Holly Newton’s killer said it is in the public interest that he can now be identified, even though he remains aged 17.
Mr Justice Nicholas Hilliard, the former Recorder of London, made the ruling to lift the reporting restriction covering publication of the identity of Logan MacPhail, weeks ahead of him being sentenced for Holly’s murder at Newcastle Crown Court.
It is also two months to the day before MacPhail turns 18, when he becomes an adult in the eyes of the law, and the restriction would lapse in any case.
The defendant, from Birtley, was found guilty of the murder of 15-year-old Holly and wounding another teenager with intent, in the same incident in Hexham, on January 27, last year.
Verdicts of the jury were returned after two days’ deliberation at the end of a six-week trial at Newcastle Crown Court, in August.
The application to lift the restriction, known in law as, “an excepting direction”, was made by the BBC North East at the end of the trial, on August 29.
Adjourning the sentencing until a two-day hearing at the court, later this month, Mr Justice Hilliard said he would address the issue of the defendant’s identification being published in due course, once the dust had settled following the lengthy trial procedure.
In his ruling, delivered at Newcastle Crown Court today (Wed Oct 9), Mr Justice Hilliard said: “In my judgment, on 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.
“There are no factors which provide any effective counterweight to removing the restrictions.”
Despite concerns raised over MacPhail’s welfare once his name is published, the judge said: “I am satisfied … that the defendant’s welfare will be properly and adequately safeguarded when his identity is disclosed.”
He said it is understood the nature of the offences on which MacPhail was convicted is already known among fellow residents of the secure unit where he is being detained in County Durham prior to sentence.
“In these circumstances and for these reasons, 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."
Earlier in the judgment he said the public should know the full picture as to the background of the killing, which due to the restriction, they have not previously been afforded.
“The defendant has been convicted of grave crimes which are of local and national concern.
“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.
“The defendant’s identity must also be known already within the different communities where he and the victim lived and were at school.
“There is great public concern about murders by young people who have carried knives in public places and about violence to women and girls.
“Legitimate debate is assisted by knowing who has committed such offences and their circumstances and the full detail of the offences in question.
“In my judgment, on 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.
“There are no factors which provide any effective counterweight to removing the restrictions.
See more court stories from The Northern Echo by clicking here
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MacPhail, who is on the autistic spectrum and attended a special school in Gateshead prior to the incident, was assisted during the trial by an intermediary so the proceedings could be explained to him in simple terms.
But the judge previously ruled that despite his special educational needs, the defendant was fit to stand trial.
MacPhail will be sentenced at the court in a hearing over two days, on October 31 and November 1.
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