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A man has been jailed for life with a minimum period of 23 years for the homicide of a teenage Syrian refugee after the teenager brushed past his partner in downtown Huddersfield.

Court Hears Details of Fatal Altercation

Leeds crown court learned how the accused, 20, attacked with a knife the teenager, sixteen, shortly after the teenager passed the defendant's partner. He was declared guilty of homicide on Thursday.

The victim, who had fled war-torn his Syrian hometown after being wounded in a blast, had been living in the local community for only a short period when he encountered his attacker, who had been for a meeting at the job center that day and was planning to get cosmetic adhesive with his partner.

Details of the Assault

The trial learned that Franco – who had consumed marijuana, cocaine, diazepam, ketamine and codeine – took “a trivial issue” to the teenager “innocuously” walking past his partner in the road.

CCTV footage revealed the man uttering words to Ahmad, and calling him over after a quick argument. As the youth approached, the attacker deployed the weapon on a flick knife he was concealing in his trousers and plunged it into the boy’s neck.

Verdict and Sentencing

Franco denied murder, but was convicted by a panel of jurors who deliberated for just over three hours. He admitted guilt to possessing a knife in a public place.

While sentencing the defendant on the fifth day of the week, the presiding judge said that upon observing the victim, the defendant “singled him out and lured him to within your range to assault before killing him”. He said the defendant's assertion to have seen a weapon in Ahmad’s waistband was “a lie”.

Crowson said of the victim that “it stands as proof to the medical personnel trying to save his life and his determination to live he even made it to the hospital alive, but in fact his wounds were fatal”.

Family Reaction and Statement

Reciting a statement written by his relative the family member, with contributions from his mother and father, Richard Wright KC told the judges that the boy's dad had suffered a heart attack upon hearing the news of his son’s death, leading to an operation.

“Words cannot capture the effect of their terrible act and the effect it had over the whole family,” the statement read. “The victim's mother still cries over his garments as they carry his scent.”

Ghazwan, who said Ahmad was like a son and he felt ashamed he could not protect him, went on to explain that the victim had thought he had found “a peaceful country and the fulfilment of dreams” in England, but instead was “cruelly taken away by the senseless and unprovoked act”.

“In my role as his uncle, I will always carry the guilt that he had come to the UK, and I could not keep him safe,” he said in a message after the judgment. “Dear Ahmad we care for you, we yearn for you and we will do for ever.”

History of the Teenager

The court heard the teenager had travelled for three months to get to England from Syria, stopping in a shelter for young people in Swansea and attending college in the Swansea area before relocating to Huddersfield. The young man had aspired to be a doctor, inspired partially by a wish to look after his mother, who suffered from a persistent condition.