🔗 Share this article

A man has been given a life sentence with a lowest sentence of 23 years for the homicide of a young Syrian refugee after the boy brushed past his partner in the center of Huddersfield.

Trial Learns Particulars of Fatal Confrontation

The court in Leeds heard how Alfie Franco, aged 20, knifed the teenager, 16, soon after the boy walked by Franco’s girlfriend. He was found guilty of the killing on the fourth day of the week.

The teenager, who had escaped war-torn his Syrian hometown after being wounded in a bombing, had been residing in the West Yorkshire town for only a few weeks when he met Franco, who had been for a meeting at the job center that day and was planning to get eyelash glue with his female companion.

Details of the Incident

Leeds crown court was informed that the accused – who had consumed marijuana, a stimulant drug, diazepam, an anesthetic and a painkiller – took “some petty exception” to the boy “innocuously” passing by his girlfriend in the road.

Security camera video showed the defendant uttering words to the teenager, and calling him over after a short verbal altercation. As the youth approached, the individual opened the blade on a flick knife he was holding in his trousers and drove it into the boy’s neck.

Verdict and Sentencing

The defendant refuted the murder charge, but was judged guilty by a trial jury 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 spotting the teenager, the man “marked him as a victim and drew him to within your proximity to assault before ending his life”. He said his statement to have seen a weapon in the victim's belt was “a lie”.

He said of the victim that “it is evidence to the medical personnel attempting to rescue him and his will to live he even reached the hospital with signs of life, but in reality his wounds were unsurvivable”.

Family Impact and Statement

Reading out a statement written by Ahmad’s uncle his uncle, with help from his family, the prosecutor told the judges that the victim's parent had suffered a heart attack upon hearing the news of his son’s death, causing him to require surgery.

“I am unable to describe the consequence of their awful offense and the effect it had over everyone,” the statement stated. “The victim's mother still sobs over his belongings as they carry his scent.”

Ghazwan, who said Ahmad was like a son and he felt ashamed he could not shield him, went on to state that the teenager had thought he had found “a peaceful country and the achievement of aspirations” in England, but instead was “tragically removed by the pointless and random violence”.

“Being his relative, I will always bear the shame that Ahmad had come to the UK, and I could not protect him,” he said in a message after the verdict. “Ahmad we adore you, we long for you and we will continue always.”

Background of the Teenager

The court heard the victim had journeyed for three months to arrive in Britain from his home country, stopping in a refugee centre for young people in the Welsh city and going to school in the Swansea area before relocating to his final destination. The boy had dreamed of becoming a medical professional, inspired partially by a hope to look after his mother, who suffered from a long-term health problem.