Boy, 15, found guilty of murder after stabbing Alfie Lewis, 15, to death near a school in Leeds

A 15-year-old boy has been found guilty of stabbing to death Alfie Lewis near a school in Leeds.

Alfie, also 15, was stabbed with a 13cm knife “in full view” of horrified pupils in the Horsforth area of West Yorkshire in November last year.

The defendant, who was 14 at the time, was convicted of murder at Leeds Crown Court today.

Sobs were heard from Alfie’s family in the public gallery as the verdict was read out.

Family members, most of whom were wearing t-shirts with pictures of Alfie saying “Forever 15”, consoled and hugged each other.

Judge, Mr Justice Cotter, will sentence the youth on June 21.

He told the defendant: “You have been found guilty of murder. There is only one sentence I can pass.

“What I have to determine is how many years you will be detained before you are able to be released.”

Craig Hassall KC, prosecuting, told the court last week that Alfie had been walking down the street to meet friends when the defendant attacked him.

Witnesses recalled Alfie looking “surprised and shocked” and saying to the defendant: “What are you doing?” as the incident unfolded close to St Margaret’s Primary School.

Mr Hassall added: “Alfie did not get as far as meeting any of his friends that day.

“He was approached by (the defendant), and stabbed twice – once in the chest and once in the leg.

“He collapsed and died in the road close to the primary school in full view of scores of pupils leaving school and the people who were waiting to collect them.”

A post-mortem examination subsequently revealed the fatal stab injury was a 14cm deep wound to Alfie’s chest, puncturing his heart.

Mr Hassall continued: “(The defendant) then fled the scene, dropping the murder weapon in the road close to the primary school.”

Jurors were told all witnesses were “consistent” in recalling how Alfie was “not the aggressor”.

The prosecutor said: “Insofar as any of the witnesses saw Alfie doing anything towards (the defendant), they describe him trying in vain to defend himself from (the defendant’s) knife.”

The defendant, who cannot be named for legal reasons, had told the jury he was scared of Alfie following two incidents in the months before.

But he was convicted of murder a jury of five men and seven women today.

Speaking outside court, Alfie’s brother Antony thanked the jury.

He said: “The only justice we would want is for Alfie to come home, to me and my mum, and to us as a family.

“Most of all we would like to say thank you to our Alfie, for giving us all your love, joy, and humour and making us smile every day in the 15 years we had to enjoy and love you.

“You are always in our hearts and our minds, and until we are all together again keep dancing in the sky our beautiful boy.

“We miss you and we love you, always.”

Senior Investigating Officer, Detective Chief Inspector Stacey Atkinson, of West Yorkshire Police, added: “Alfie was only 15 years old and was not involved in gangs or any other criminality that could have put him at risk of knife crime. He had simply gone to meet his friends from school and was not looking for a confrontation with anyone.

“The evidence has shown that the youth convicted of Alfie’s murder had planned and prepared to attack him, taking a kitchen knife from home, and waiting until the end of the school day when he knew where he could find him.

“He claimed that he had acted in self-defence, but the evidence from multiple eyewitnesses has shown that he was the aggressor who launched a deliberate and determined attack repeatedly stabbing Alfie, who was completely defenceless, leaving him fatally wounded.

“We have heard evidence of previous incidents involving Alfie and the youth but these were very minor in nature. Clearly there is nothing that could justify the murderous violence he used to end Alfie’s young life.

“Alfie’s murder occurred in a busy street at school home time and was witnessed by several children and passing members of the public. Understandably, it caused a huge amount of shock and concern in the local community.

“It is a tragedy that illustrates the appalling consequences of knife crime, and we can only hope it will hit home to young people that it can never be right to carry a knife or use violence to settle your differences.”