What happened to Haltwhistle schoolgirl Holly Newton?

The murder of schoolgirl Holly Newton was an event which shocked Hexham, the quiet Northumberland market town where she went to school.

The 15-year-old from Haltwhistle was fatally stabbed in an alleyway on 27 January 2023. Her family described her as a talented dancer who was bubbly, bright and popular.

Following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court, a 17-year-old boy - who cannot be named due to his age - has been found guilty of her murder.

He was also found guilty of wounding with intent of another youth.

Throughout the trial, the boy had admitted killing Holly but denied a charge of murder.

He was known to Holly and during the trial, the court was told how she had messaged a friend to say he was "basically stalking" her.

After finishing school on the day she died, Holly went into Hexham with her friends. The prosecution said she was unaware that the defendant was following them at a distance.

At around 4.45pm, Holly went into a pizza shop. The defendant waited at a nearby bus stop and asked to speak to her.

CCTV footage shown to the court showed Holly appearing calm as she spoke to the boy before they stepped into an alleyway.

In the space of over a minute, he inflicted 36 knife wounds on Holly - stabbing her 12 times, slashing her 19 times and causing her five "defensive" injuries.

Another youth told the court he heard screaming and went into the alleyway to help. He also suffered stab wounds to his shoulder, arm and thigh which required surgery.

A passer-by managed to restrain the defendant.

The defendant told police he had intended to injure himself, but it "went too far". In court, he said he had no recollection of stabbing Holly, or the youth who came to her aid.

Emergency services were called and Holly was taken to Newcastle’s Royal Victoria Infirmary but could not be saved.

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