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A person has been jailed for life with a minimum period of 23 years for the homicide of a young Syrian asylum seeker after the boy walked by his companion in Huddersfield town centre.

Trial Learns Details of Fatal Confrontation

Leeds crown court was told how the accused, twenty, stabbed the teenager, sixteen, soon after the young man passed Franco’s girlfriend. He was declared guilty of the killing on the fourth day of the week.

Ahmad, who had left war-torn his Syrian hometown after being injured in a explosion, had been staying in the Huddersfield area for only a couple of weeks when he crossed paths with the defendant, who had been for a employment office visit that day and was intending to purchase beauty product with his female companion.

Particulars of the Incident

Leeds crown court heard that Franco – who had used marijuana, a stimulant drug, a prescription medication, an anesthetic and codeine – took “some petty exception” to Ahmad “harmlessly” walking past his partner in the street.

CCTV footage displayed the man making a remark to Ahmad, and summoning him after a quick argument. As the boy walked over, Franco opened the blade on a flick knife he was holding in his clothing and drove it into the victim's neck.

Verdict and Sentencing

The defendant denied murder, but was found guilty by a trial jury who considered the evidence for about three hours. He pleaded guilty to carrying a blade in a public area.

While sentencing the defendant on last Friday, the presiding judge said that upon observing the victim, Franco “identified him as a target and lured him to within your reach to attack before taking his life”. He said Franco’s claim to have seen a weapon in the victim's belt was “untrue”.

The judge said of the victim that “it is evidence to the healthcare workers trying to save his life and his desire to survive he even reached the hospital with signs of life, but in truth his injuries were fatal”.

Relatives Impact and Statement

Reciting a message prepared by his relative the family member, with contributions from his mother and father, the prosecutor told the court that the teenager’s father had suffered a heart attack upon hearing the news of his child's passing, causing him to require surgery.

“I am unable to describe the impact of their heinous crime and the influence it had over the whole family,” the message read. “The victim's mother still sobs over his clothes as they smell of him.”

The uncle, who said his nephew was as close as a child and he felt ashamed he could not protect him, went on to declare that the victim had thought he had found “the land of peace and the fulfilment of dreams” in Britain, but instead was “cruelly taken away by the pointless and random violence”.

“As Ahmad’s uncle, I will always carry the guilt that he had come to the UK, and I could not ensure his safety,” he said in a declaration after the verdict. “Our beloved boy we love you, we miss you and we will continue always.”

History of the Teenager

The court learned the teenager had travelled for three months to get to England from his home country, visiting a refugee centre for young people in the Welsh city and studying in the local college before relocating to his final destination. The boy had dreamed of becoming a physician, motivated partly by a desire to care for his mom, who was affected by a long-term health problem.