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A person has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years for the killing of a teenage Syrian asylum seeker after the teenager brushed past his girlfriend in Huddersfield town centre.

Trial Hears Details of Deadly Confrontation

A Leeds courtroom was told how Alfie Franco, aged 20, attacked with a knife the teenager, aged 16, shortly after the young man walked by Franco’s girlfriend. He was found guilty of homicide on Thursday.

The teenager, who had left conflict-ridden Homs after being wounded in a bombing, had been residing in the West Yorkshire town for only a few weeks when he met his attacker, who had been for a employment office visit that day and was going to buy eyelash glue with his female companion.

Details of the Attack

The court was informed that the accused – who had taken marijuana, a stimulant drug, a prescription medication, ketamine and codeine – took “a minor offense” to the boy “without malice” going past his girlfriend in the street.

CCTV footage revealed the man saying something to the teenager, and calling him over after a short verbal altercation. As the boy walked over, the individual deployed the weapon on a flick knife he was concealing in his pants and drove it into the victim's neck.

Verdict and Judgment

The accused denied murder, but was found guilty by a panel of jurors who deliberated for just over three hours. He pleaded guilty to having a knife in a public area.

While delivering the judgment on last Friday, the court judge said that upon observing the victim, the defendant “singled him out and enticed him to within your proximity to assault before ending his life”. He said his statement to have noticed a knife in the victim's belt was “false”.

Crowson said of Ahmad that “it stands as proof to the medical personnel trying to save his life and his will to live he even reached the hospital with signs of life, but in truth his injuries were unsurvivable”.

Family Reaction and Statement

Presenting a message prepared by his relative the family member, with help from his family, the legal representative told the court that the boy's dad had had a heart episode upon learning of the incident of his son’s death, necessitating medical intervention.

“Words cannot capture the impact of their awful offense and the effect it had over all involved,” the statement stated. “His mother still cries over his belongings as they remind her of him.”

He, who said the boy was dear to him and he felt remorseful he could not keep him safe, went on to explain that the victim had thought he had found “a safe haven and the achievement of aspirations” in the UK, but instead was “brutally snatched by the unnecessary and sudden attack”.

“Being his relative, I will always carry the guilt that Ahmad had traveled to England, and I could not keep him safe,” he said in a declaration after the verdict. “Ahmad we care for you, we long for you and we will feel this way eternally.”

History of the Victim

The proceedings was told the victim had travelled for three months to reach the UK from Syria, visiting a shelter for youths in a city in Wales and going to school in the Swansea area before arriving in his final destination. The boy had hoped to work as a doctor, driven in part by a hope to support his parent, who suffered from a long-term health problem.