BBC
In January last year 15-year-old Holly Newton was stalked and then murdered by her teenage ex-boyfriend. She was too young to be classed as a victim of domestic violence but her family believes her death should be recognised as such in order to help save young lives in the future.
When Holly’s mum, Micala Trussler, got the call on a Friday night to say her daughter had been stabbed in Hexham, Northumberland, she instantly knew who the attacker was.
Logan MacPhail, now 17, had been obsessed with Holly during their 18-month, on-off relationship and was determined to control her, Micala says.
“He didn’t like her having other friends, he didn’t like her going out without him, he needed to know where she was at all times.
“It was all just control, everything was controlling and when he couldn’t control her there was a problem.”
Micala and her partner Lee had not realised there was an issue until Holly’s friends pointed out how “toxic” MacPhail’s behaviour was.
“At first that was a bit of a shock to Holly,” she says.
“I don’t think she understood it was happening to her until the very last few days.”
If you are affected by the content of this article, information and support is available via the BBC Action Line.
Holly met MacPhail at army cadets, where he learned how to covertly follow targets and had expressed an interest in becoming a sniper.
They had broken up on multiple occasions but he would often then threaten to kill himself, making her feel guilty.
The night before MacPhail murdered Holly, he waited for hours outside her family home in Haltwhistle claiming he just wanted to get his games console back.
He messaged a sibling of Holly’s asking if they could help him “sneak in” but the sibling refused.
