Teenage killer of Harvey Willgoose named in court
The name of the 15-year-old boy who killed teenager Harvey Willgoose at a Sheffield school has been revealed for the first time.
A judge has lifted a ban on Mohammed Umar Khan being named ahead of sentencing at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday.
Khan, 15, was sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum of 16 years at Sheffield Crown Court for the murder of teenager Harvey Willgoose at their school.
During the sentencing hearing at Sheffield Crown Court on Wednesday, judge Mrs Justice Ellenbogen told the defendant: “You were the aggressor and… you acted hurt and angry at what you considered to be his betrayal of your friendship.”
On his way to school, Khan grabbed a hunting knife and stabbed 15-year-old Harvey in the heart in front of terrified children.
The boy was found guilty of murder in August.
The judge on Wednesday called the murder “a serious crime committed by one student against another on school property.”
She also said that the “public will wish to know the identity of those who commit such serious offenses”, and said that Khan’s age was not a sufficient reason for him to remain anonymous.
The jury at Khan’s trial was shown CCTV footage of the incident, which showed how he stabbed Harvey twice.
One of these blows cut one of his ribs and pierced his heart.
Jurors heard Khan tell All Saints’ headteacher Sean Pender immediately after the stabbing: “I’m not in the right mind. My mum isn’t taking good care of me.”
School assistant principal Morgan Davis removed the knife from the defendant and heard the defendant say, “you know I can’t control this.” The teacher interpreted this as a reference to anger issues, given previous violent behavior at school.
The jury was told how Harvey and Khan got into a fight following an incident at school five days before the fatal stabbing on January 29.
That day, Khan tried to intervene in an argument involving two other children and had to be restrained by a teacher.
When one of these boys claimed to have a knife, a curfew was declared and the police were called, even though no weapon was found.
Harvey wasn’t at school that day and left school for the rest of the week, texting his father: “I’m not going to that school when people are holding knives.”
The weekend before the stabbing, Harvey and Khan clashed on social media, with each siding with a different boy involved in the lockdown.
When Khan returned to school on February 3, Mr Davis asked him if there was anything he shouldn’t have done and he said there wasn’t.
The jury heard that just after the lunch break, which started at 12.10am that morning, a series of encounters took place between Harvey and Khan before the defendant pulled out the knife and used it.
The court was shown images and videos on the defendant’s phone of him posing with knives and other weapons, and was told how the defendant used weapons-related search terms online.
Khan told the court he decided to carry a knife for protection because he was afraid of other young people who he believed were carrying guns.
His lawyer, Gul Nawaz Hussain KC, told the jury that the defendant had “escaped” after years of bullying and “a period of intense fear at school”.
Since Harvey’s death, his family have been campaigning against knife crime, with a particular focus on the introduction of knife belts in schools.
Harvey’s parents, Mark and Caroline, watched the sentencing on Wednesday from the back row of the public gallery.
Other family members were also there, including Harvey’s sister Sophie.
Khan’s family were seated in the front row of the gallery overlooking the courtroom at Sheffield Crown Court.
Khan was wearing a waterproof black hoodie on the glass-fronted dock and was accompanied by three security guards and a vehicle.
