Alfie Franco jailed for 23 years for murder of Syrian refugee

A man who killed a young Syrian refugee on a busy street in the city center has been sentenced to life in prison with a minimum term of 23 years.

Alfie Franco, 20, stabbed 16-year-old Ahmad Mamdouh Al Ibrahim with a knife after confronting him in Huddersfield on April 3 this year.

Franco had denied murder but was found guilty by a jury after a six-day trial at Leeds Crown Court on Thursday.

Judge Howard Crowson told Franco, who showed no emotion throughout the sentencing hearing in the same court on Friday, that Ahmed’s family had suffered an “unimaginable” loss.

The hearing heard that Franco was walking down Ramsden Street with his then-girlfriend when Ahmad, who was with a friend, passed them.

The prosecution said Ahmed “may have had very minor contact” with Franco’s girlfriend as he walked past them and that Franco “took some minor exceptions”.

The 20-year-old young man took a knife out of his pocket with his left hand while eating ice cream with his right hand.

He then stabbed the victim, who had moved to Huddersfield just two weeks earlier to live with his uncle, in full view of passersby, including children, about 40 seconds after the shooting began.

Franco claimed that Ahmed had a knife in his hand and that he acted in self-defense because he thought he would attack him first.

But Judge Crowson told him “this was not a mistake or misconception on your part, it was a lie”.

He added: “During this hearing you attempted to portray him as the attacker, but CCTV showed he posed no threat to you.

The judge said Ahmed “must have been frightened and in great pain” after being attacked, which was evidence for both him and paramedics that he did not succumb to his injuries by the time he reached hospital.

His uncle, who looked after Ahmed as his guardian when he moved to Huddersfield, described his nephew as a “social and ambitious personality” who moved to England to fulfill his dream of becoming a doctor.

A victim impact statement read on his behalf said Ahmed “loved helping people and was “passionate about life, friends, traveling and getting to know places”.

He added: “The impact of his loss has shattered the entire family and for a moment has shattered the hearts of everyone who knew Ahmed.”

The court was told Ahmed’s father, who still lives in Syria, suffered a heart attack shortly after receiving news of his son’s death and required emergency surgery.

The jury was shown photos and videos from Franco’s phone showing him smoking marijuana before the incident, as well as images and videos of several knives that Franco had purchased and kept in his home.

One photo showed him holding the guns in his bedroom with the words “artillery doing well” written on it.

When defense barrister Gill Batts KC asked why he took the photos, he said they had to send them to friends in a group chat because he wanted to “look big”.

Franco had previously pleaded guilty to a charge of possessing a knife in a public place, for which he was given a concurrent 12-month prison sentence.

Det Supt Damian Roebuck, of West Yorkshire Police, said: “We welcome Franco being sentenced for the horrific and inexplicable murder of a teenager he had never met and had no quarrel with.

“We never believed Franco’s claim that he acted in self-defence, particularly as this claim was contradicted by the CCTV evidence presented to the court.

“Ahmet himself was not carrying any weapon, whereas Franco had taken to the streets that day carrying the hidden knife he used to brutally injure this poor young man.

“No sentence can bring Ahmed back, but we hope that seeing Franco imprisoned for many years today will provide some solace to the family who continue to grieve his loss.”