Parents issued urgent warning to watch out for signs of ‘intense’ teenage relationships that could prove fatal after Holly Newton was stabbed

An urgent warning has been issued to parents about the dangers of intense teenage relationships in the age of social media, as an obsessive teenage boy was jailed for at least 17 years for the brutal murder of his ex-girlfriend.

Even when he was 16, Logan MacPhail was controlling his 15-year-old girlfriend Holly Newton’s life by preventing her from going out with friends, demanding to know her whereabouts at all times, and changing her social media passwords.

Holly once told her mother that MacPhail had warned her that ‘if he can’t have her, then neither can anyone else.’

The grieving mother said: ‘We didn’t know he really meant it.’

When Holly finally ended their 18-month relationship, MacPhail tracked her down and, despite police intervention, lured her into an alley while she was with another boy in January last year and brutally murdered her with a knife he had brought with him.

Holly Newton, 15, was stabbed to death in a violent attack by her ex-boyfriend Logan MacPhail (then 16) after they ended their 18-month relationship.

Logan MacPhail was jailed for the murder of 15-year-old Holly Newton after stalking and stabbing her to death in January 2023.

Holly’s mother Micala Trussler and stepfather Lee leave Newcastle Crown Court today

MacPhail, now 17, was sentenced to life imprisonment at Newcastle Crown Court today after being found guilty of murder.

Sentencing, Mr Justice Hilliard told MacPhail he was “filled with anger and jealousy” and had calculated the best place and time to launch his “evil and brutal” attack.

The judge said he stabbed Holly 36 times in the head and body and Holly’s mother was not allowed to hold her daughter in her arms for the last time ‘due to the terrible situation she was in’.

He said: ‘What happened in this incident should never have happened to any child or parent, and no child or parent should have to fear that it might happen.’ After the hearing, police said parents should be aware of how toxic teenage relationships can be.

Detective Sergeant Darren Davies of Northumbria Police, who worked on the case, warned parents about the dangers of unhealthy teenage relationships.

He said: ‘It’s quite clear that as generations and technologies change, children are generally much more involved in each other’s lives and their relationships are much more intense than they were when I was 14, 15 or 16.

‘There needs to be parent, teacher and community conversations about the intensity of teenage relationships to ensure that young people are aware of what is healthy and what is not when it comes to contact, friends, passwords and access to each other’s social media and friend groups.

‘Everyone is connected in some way these days. ‘Parents need to be much more aware because these things can happen.’

Chilling CCTV footage captured the moment a jealous ex-boyfriend stalked 15-year-old Holly undetected for 45 minutes before luring her into an alley and stabbing her to death.

The footage shows the killer on a bus heading to Hexham on the day of the attack. He was so consumed with jealousy that he stabbed her to death when he saw her walking through town with another boy.

Hat-wearing MacPhail arrived in Hexham on the afternoon of the murder and covered his face with a mask before following Holly and her friends.

Followed them undetected for 45 minutes

The court heard MacPhail tried to see Holly at her home the evening before the murder but was denied access. The police then picked him up and took him home.

Arrangements were made for Holly to go with her mother after school the next day to discuss the stalking issue with the police.

But Holly wanted to go out with friends and persuaded her mother to reschedule the meeting.

Micala Trussler called this decision ‘the biggest mistake of my life’.

In an interview with the BBC, Ms Trussler said Holly felt sorry for MacPhail, who has autism, a severe speech disorder and learning difficulties, and did not know how to end the relationship.

He added: ‘He’s been obsessed with her for a long time.

‘He didn’t like her going out. He didn’t want her to go out with her friends. He needed to know where he was at all times, even if he was at home. He wanted to know what he was doing.

‘He changed the passwords to all his social media accounts, so he was quite upset about that because he couldn’t get into any of them.

‘There was a lot of controlling behavior.’

MacPhail, wearing a mask and hat, is seen approaching Holly as she stands at the bus stop looking at her phone.

36 people were injured in the attack with the kitchen knife that MacPhail brought with him, and the weapon was broken in the attack, Holly said.

He later told police he ‘behaved so terribly’ as he tried to make excuses for killing the schoolgirl

Chilling CCTV footage shows Holly speaking to MacPhail at a bus stop in Hexham, Northumberland, just before she persuaded him to go down an alley for a chat.

He then launched his deadly attack. Another boy who was with Holly was stabbed while trying to save the schoolgirl.

The boy managed to warn the public, who took MacPhail away from Holly.

They were commended by the judge for their bravery.

The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, told the court before the sentence was handed down: ‘I wouldn’t wish what happened to me on anyone and I can’t imagine what Holly’s family are going through right now.

‘Whatever punishment Logan receives will not change what happened that day.’