Man who fatally stabbed teenage Syrian refugee detained for life
The man who stabbed a young Syrian refugee to death in the neck as he passed his girlfriend on a crowded shopping street was detained for life.
Alfie Franco, 20, must serve at least 23 years in prison for the murder of 16-year-old Syrian refugee Ahmad Al Ibrahim in Huddersfield city centre.
Al Ibrahim, who had fled war-torn Homs after being injured in a bombing, had been living in Huddersfield for only a few weeks when he crossed paths with Franco, who had arrived for a Business Center appointment and was on his way to buy eyelash glue with his girlfriend.
Leeds Crown Court heard Franco, who consumed cannabis, cocaine, diazepam, ketamine and codeine, took “some minor exceptions” to Ahmed, who passed his girlfriend “harmlessly” on the street.
CCTV footage shows Franco saying something to Ahmed and calling him out after a brief verbal argument.
As Ahmed approached, Franco opened the blade of the knife he was carrying in his trousers and stabbed the child in the neck.
Prosecutors said Franco hid the “savage” knife until the last second so that the unarmed Ahmed “didn’t have a chance.”
Footage played during the hearing showed Ahmed grabbing his throat and staggering for several meters down the street before collapsing.
Franco denied murder but was found guilty by a jury after deliberating for just over three hours. He pleaded guilty to possessing a knife in a public place.
Franco, who spent much of his childhood in South Africa before returning to Huddersfield at the age of 13, told the hearing he thought he saw Ahmed reach for the gun in his waistband.
He said he aimed for the boy’s cheek and just wanted to “cut him and walk away”.
Jailing him for life with a minimum term of 23 years on Friday, Judge Howard Crowson said Franco’s claims that he was afraid of Ahmed were “incredible” as CCTV footage showed the defendant calmly eating an ice cream as he prepared to stab him.
He told Franco: “During this hearing you tried to portray Ahmed as aggressive and threatening.
“CCTV shows you were not under any threat. Ahmad was unarmed as he walked peacefully through Huddersfield town center that day.”
He said that Franco’s claim that he saw a gun on Ahmed’s waist was a “lie”.
The judge said: “You prepared your knife for use before Ahmet made any move towards you.
“You calmly and secretly took the knife from your waist, opened it and hid it in your pocket.”
He said he was certain Franco intended to kill Ahmed and “lured” the boy into striking distance, before throwing the knife towards him and deliberately aiming for his neck.
Jurors heard Franco had become “more interested in knives” and had texted a friend the day before, threatening to stab someone over a stolen trolley.
In a victim impact statement read in court, Ahmed’s uncle Ghazwan Al Ibrahim said Ahmed was an “intelligent and outstanding student” whose dream was to become a doctor.
He said his nephew “has a social and ambitious personality, loves helping people and is passionate about life.”
Mr Al Ibrahim said Ahmed spent three months traveling to England and first lived with others his age in a Home Office hotel in Swansea before moving to Huddersfield to be with his uncle.
He said Ahmed’s death had dashed all his hopes for a better life in the UK and all his family’s efforts to get him there had been in vain.
Mr Al Ibrahim said: “It is the end of everything we had hoped for Ahmed, after being delighted with his arrival in the UK, a land of peace and a place where dreams come true.”
