Person Sentenced for At Least 23 Years for Murdering Syrian-born Youth in Huddersfield

A person has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 23 years for the homicide of a teenage Syrian asylum seeker after the teenager brushed past his partner in the center of Huddersfield.

Trial Hears Details of Deadly Confrontation

Leeds crown court learned how the defendant, 20, attacked with a knife the victim, 16, not long after the teenager walked by his companion. He was declared guilty of the killing on the fourth day of the week.

Ahmad, who had escaped conflict-ridden the city of Homs after being hurt in a explosion, had been staying in the local community for only a short period when he crossed paths with the defendant, who had been for a jobcentre appointment that day and was planning to get cosmetic adhesive with his female companion.

Particulars of the Attack

The court learned that Franco – who had used marijuana, cocaine, diazepam, ketamine and a painkiller – took “a minor offense” to the boy “innocuously” walking past his partner in the street.

Surveillance tape showed the defendant saying something to the teenager, and gesturing him closer after a brief exchange. As the youth approached, the attacker unfolded the knife on a flick knife he was concealing in his pants and thrust it into the victim's neck.

Trial Outcome and Sentencing

The accused denied murder, but was found guilty by a jury who took a little more than three hours to decide. He pleaded guilty to carrying a blade in a public place.

While delivering the judgment on Friday, judge Howard Crowson said that upon spotting the teenager, the defendant “marked him as a victim and drew him to within your proximity to assault before taking his life”. He said Franco’s claim to have noticed a knife in Ahmad’s waistband was “a lie”.

He said of the teenager that “it stands as proof to the healthcare workers working to keep him alive and his determination to live he even arrived at the hospital breathing, but in reality his trauma were fatal”.

Relatives Reaction and Statement

Reading out a declaration prepared by his relative his uncle, with input from his parents, the prosecutor told the judges that the boy's dad had experienced cardiac arrest upon hearing the news of his son’s death, causing him to require surgery.

“It is hard to express the effect of their awful offense and the influence it had over all involved,” the statement stated. “His mother still cries over his garments as they smell of him.”

He, who said his nephew was dear to him and he felt guilty he could not keep him safe, went on to declare that the victim had thought he had found “a peaceful country and the fulfilment of dreams” in England, but instead was “tragically removed by the pointless and random violence”.

“Being his relative, I will always carry the guilt that Ahmad had arrived in Britain, and I could not ensure his safety,” he said in a declaration after the verdict. “Ahmad we care for you, we long for you and we will continue always.”

History of the Teenager

The proceedings learned the teenager had made his way for three months to arrive in Britain from the Middle East, stopping in a refugee centre for young people in the Welsh city and studying in the Welsh city before moving to Huddersfield. The teenager had hoped to work as a doctor, inspired partially by a wish to care for his mom, who suffered from a persistent condition.