Holly Newton's mum shares 'biggest mistake' with cruel twist of fate as schoolboy killer jailed

The mother of murdered schoolgirl has spoken out about the devastating regret that continues to haunt her.

Her daughter, 15, was tragically killed by her ex-boyfriend , who was today . MacPhail, who was infuriated by her decision to end their 18-month relationship, had followed Holly as she went shopping with friends after school on January 27 last year.

Then aged 16, he lured her into an alleyway before , inflicting 10 further slash wounds. The young girl was rushed to hospital, where she was tragically pronounced dead.

Grieving mum who is calling for her daughter's death to be treated as a domestic violence murder and not a knife attack, had already feared for her daughter's safety, with a worrying incident the previous evening prompting her to take action.

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The night before Holly died, MacPhail, who had learning difficulties and autism, made the journey to Holly's family home in Haltwhistle, Northumberland - some 40 miles away from where he lived in Gateshead. MacPhail had tried to persuade Holly's sibling to let him in, however his attempts were ultimately rejected.

In her harrowing victim impact statement, Micala said: "I think if he somehow managed to get into the house it could have been a whole different story - we could have been looking at maybe more than one murder." At around 9.40 pm that evening, Micala contacted police and scheduled a meeting for her and Holly to discuss MacPhail with officers the following day, after school.

Holly - who was eager to spend time with friends - persuaded her mum to reschedule the appointment for later on. But by then, it would have been far too late.

Micala has since described this decision as 'the biggest mistake of my life'. She told News: "They'd [police] agreed to come out at four o'clock on the Friday so I told Holly and she said 'I was supposed to be going out with my friends tonight'. She begged me. She said 'He ruins everything for me, I want to go out'. The biggest mistake of my life, I agreed."

MacPhail had deceived Holly by lying about being away in Newcastle, luring her into a false sense of security as she went out with pals in Hexham. At MacPhail's trial, Newcastle Crown Court heard how sickening CCTV footage showed MacPhail following the friends in disguise, taking steps not to be seen for around 45 minutes.

When Micala received a call informing her that Holly had been stabbed, she knew instantly who was behind the attack. Recalling MacPhail's troubling behaviour during his and Holly's on-off relationship, Micala continued: "He didn’t like her having other friends, he didn't like her going out without him, he needed to know where she was at all times. It was all just control, everything was controlling and when he couldn’t control her there was a problem."

According to Micala, MacPhail also threatened to harm himself if she ended the relationship, making things more difficult for Holly. Going forward, Micala, who believes Holly was the victim of domestic abuse, and a controlling partner, is now campaigning for schools to teach young people the dangers of such relationships.

Her efforts have been welcomed by experts in the field, including Dr Emma Cunningham, a criminologist at The University Of East London. Dr Cunningham told the : "This murder should be seen within the remit of Violence Against Women and Girls rather than as a knife crime incident given the coercive and controlling behaviour of her partner Logan, and the violent attack that he inflicted on her.

"His attempts to control where Holly was going and who she was mixing with illustrate clear red flags about his behaviour as does his threats to harm himself which can be seen to be used often in domestic violence and abuse cases. Women's Aid would explain such tactics often used by perpetrators of Domestic and Sexual violence."

Do you have a story to share? Email me at julia.banim@reachplc.com

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