LONDON: A 20-year-old man found guilty of murdering a Syrian refugee teenager in an unprovoked knife attack in an English town earlier this year has been sentenced to life in prison on Friday.
Leeds Crown Court heard that Alfie Franco fatally stabbed 16-year-old Ahmad Al-Ibrahim on April 3 in Huddersfield after the victim brushed past Franco’s pregnant girlfriend while walking along a shopping street.
West Yorkshire Police confirmed Franco had been jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years.
CCTV footage released by the force showed a brief verbal exchange between the pair before Franco, who had taken a mix of cannabis, cocaine and ketamine, pulled a flick knife from his pocket and stabbed Ahmad once in the neck.
The teenager, who had fled conflict in Syria seeking safety in the UK, suffered catastrophic injuries, including wounds to his jugular vein, trachea and carotid artery, and died at the scene.
Franco fled but was later arrested and charged with murder.
During the trial, prosecutors told jurors that Franco had a “keen interest” in knives and had recorded himself handling the weapon used in the killing.
He had captioned a photo of his collection “Artillery coming along nice,” and had boasted to friends hours before the attack that he planned to stab someone.
Prosecutor Richard Wright said: “Alfie Franco is a young man with a keen interest in possessing, carrying and using deadly weapons for offensive, not defensive, purposes — just as he did the very next day when he stabbed Ahmad in the neck for no good reason.”
When questioned in court, Franco claimed he acted out of fear, telling jurors he carried the knife because he had “heard things that happen in town” and wanted to “keep safe.”
He later admitted during cross-examination that he had “murdered” Ahmad, saying: “Yes … I didn’t want to do that to anyone. I wish I could take it back but I can’t.”
Franco also admitted possessing a knife in a public place.
Following the verdict, Temporary Detective Superintendent Damian Roebuck of the Homicide and Major Enquiry Team said: “We welcome the sentencing of Franco for the dreadful and inexplicable murder of a teenager he had never met and who he had no quarrel with.”
He continued: “We never believed Franco’s claim that he acted in self-defense, especially as it was contradicted by CCTV evidence put before the court. Ahmad himself was not carrying a weapon of any kind, whereas Franco had taken to the streets that day carrying the concealed blade he used to inflict a savage injury on this poor young man.
“No sentence can ever bring back Ahmad, but we hope seeing Franco jailed for many years today will bring some measure of comfort to a family who continue to grieve for his loss.”
