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A 17-year-old who brutally murdered his 15-year-old ex-girlfriend, Holly Newton, in a frenzied knife attack in January 2023, can now be publicly named after a judge lifted reporting restrictions.

Logan MacPhail who had stalked Holly through the streets of Hexham, Northumberland, before launching the deadly attack, was convicted of her murder in August following a trial at Newcastle Crown Court.

The attack occurred after MacPhail, then 16, followed Holly and her friends around the town centre unable to accept that their 18-month relationship had ended. Armed with a kitchen knife he had taken from his home, MacPhail confronted Holly in an alleyway, stabbing or slashing her 36 times.

MacPhail was also convicted of wounding a boy who bravely tried to save Holly during the attack.

Prosecutor David Brooke KC described MacPhail as “jealous” that Holly had started seeing someone else. He had travelled over 40 miles from his home in Gateshead to her house the night before the murder and was found lurking nearby by police, who returned him home.

Holly Newton was murdered in an attack in an alleyway in Hexham.

The next day, MacPhail left his special school early and travelled to Hexham, where he stalked Holly before launching his fatal assault. CCTV footage captured MacPhail, wearing a mask and a baseball cap, speaking to Holly at a bus stop shortly before the attack.

Despite the horrific nature of the crime, MacPhail denied murder and claimed he intended to use the knife to harm himself, not Holly. He admitted to manslaughter, claiming he blacked out during the attack.

Mr Justice Hilliard, who lifted the reporting restriction, said the public deserved to know MacPhail's identity to fully understand the circumstances of the crime, especially in light of the ongoing national debate about knife crime and violence against women.

Logan MacPhail, 17, can now be identified as the murderer of Holly Newton, 15, in Hexham, Northumberland, in January 2023. | Northumberland Police

The judge said: “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.”

MacPhail, who has autism and a low IQ, had met Holly when they were both involved in Army cadets. The judge allowed him to follow much of the trial from the secure accommodation where he has been held due to his learning difficulties. MacPhail will be sentenced at the end of this month.

Holly Newton: Teenager who stabbed ex-girlfriend 36 times with kitchen knife in jealous rage named