Teenage boy who murdered schoolgirl Holly Newton, 15, named as Logan MacPhail as judge lifts ban

A “jealous” teenager who stabbed his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend to death in the street after stalking her because he could not accept their relationship was over can now be named.

Logan MacPhail, 17, was convicted of murdering Holly Newton almost six weeks ago following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.

The boy stalked Holly, from Haltwhistle, before stabbing her to death in Hexham in January last year.

A judge made a ruling on Wednesday that it was in the public interest that his identity be revealed.

Newly-released CCTV footage shows MacPhail, masked and in a baseball cap, speaking to Holly at a bus stop moments before he killed her down a neighbouring alleyway in a frenzied attack - causing 36 injuries over the course of a minute.

Earlier in the day, Holly had told friends she believed MacPhail was "stalking" her, the trial heard.

It is only now, for the first time, that why Holly felt she was being stalked by MacPhail can be revealed.

The pair had been in a relationship, but Holly had ended it, the murder jury was told.

Footage released by the Crown Prosecution Service shows Logan MacPhail talking to Holly Newton moments before he killed her

The night before he killed her, MacPhail tried to visit her at home in Haltwhistle, sending multiple messages to one of her siblings.

The trial heard the killer did not see her that night, but the following day, on 27 January 2023, he travelled to Hexham, where Holly went to school.

MacPhail caught the bus from his home in Gateshead, where he was a pupil at a special needs school, and arrived in Hexham shortly before the end of the school day.

He then followed Holly and her friends around the town for two hours, before approaching her at a bus stop.

David Brooke KC, prosecuting, said MacPhail was “deeply unhappy” that their 18-month relationship was over and said he was “jealous” that she was with a new boy.

CCTV captures from the CPS captures Logan MacPhail board a bus to Hexham then arrive in the market town

MacPhail, who met Holly when they both attended Army cadets, claimed he never planned to attack her, but wanted to use the knife to kill himself.

He denied murder but admitted manslaughter, claiming he blacked out.

Due to the defendant’s learning difficulties, the judge allowed MacPhail to follow much of the trial from the secure accommodation where he has been held.

MacPhail will be sentenced at the end of this month.

Why was there a reporting restriction and why has it been lifted?

Previous reports could only refer anonymously to the juvenile defendant who killed Holly Newton.

The reporting restriction prevented the media from saying the attacker was her ex-boyfriend, because publishing that could lead to him being identified, and he was still a child.

Mr Justice Hilliard lifted the reporting restriction, even though MacPhail will not turn 18 – when such an order would normally lapse – until December this year.

The judge ruled that the public should know the murderer’s identity so as to better understand what happened, particularly in the light of the national debates about knife crime and violence against women.

He said: “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 all of the circumstances in which it was committed.”

Criminal investigator Jen Jarvie told ITV Tyne Tees that identifying MacPhail sends a message to the wider public.

She said: "I think by naming him what it actually does is it sends a message to the public that you can't hide under a cloak of being a child.

"If you commit a serious crime, an adult crime, what we would see as being a heinous crime, you have to actually pay the consequences for that. And one of those consequences is that you lose your anonymity.”

Sharon Brown, from Northumberland Domestic Abuse Services, told ITV Tyne Tees that MacPhail's obsessive behaviour was a red flag.

"Cases like Holly's don't occur that often, but there's always that risk in domestic abuse," she said.

"So if anybody's in a position where those things are happening, then you should immediately contact the police.

"None of us have got a globe and to look into what's going to happen in the future, but it is about recognising those flags, those risks, and putting the picture together."

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