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

Trial Hears Particulars of Fatal Confrontation

Leeds crown court heard how Alfie Franco, 20, knifed the teenager, sixteen, shortly after the teenager brushed past his companion. He was convicted of homicide on last Thursday.

Ahmad, who had escaped conflict-ridden the city of Homs after being injured in a explosion, had been staying in the Huddersfield area for only a few weeks when he encountered his attacker, who had been for a meeting at the job center that day and was planning to get eyelash glue with his girlfriend.

Particulars of the Assault

Leeds crown court learned that the accused – who had consumed cannabis, cocaine, diazepam, an anesthetic and a painkiller – took “a trivial issue” to Ahmad “without malice” going past his companion in the street.

CCTV footage displayed Franco making a remark to Ahmad, and calling him over after a brief exchange. As the boy approached, the individual deployed the weapon on a folding knife he was concealing in his pants and plunged it into the victim's neck.

Verdict and Judgment

The accused refuted the murder charge, but was found guilty by a panel of jurors who took a little more than three hours to decide. He confessed to possessing a knife in a public place.

While handing Franco his sentence on last Friday, the court judge said that upon observing the victim, Franco “marked him as a victim and lured him to within your proximity to attack before taking his life”. He said Franco’s claim to have noticed a knife in the boy's clothing was “false”.

He said of the teenager that “it stands as proof to the medical personnel working to keep him alive and his desire to survive he even arrived at the hospital breathing, but in reality his wounds were lethal”.

Family Reaction and Message

Presenting a declaration written by Ahmad’s uncle his uncle, with help from his family, Richard Wright KC told the judges that the boy's dad had suffered a heart attack upon learning of the incident of his child's passing, necessitating medical intervention.

“It is hard to express the impact of their heinous crime and the impact it had over everyone,” the message stated. “His mother still cries over his belongings as they carry his scent.”

The uncle, who said his nephew was like a son and he felt guilty he could not keep him safe, went on to explain that Ahmad had thought he had found “a peaceful country and the achievement of aspirations” in the UK, but instead was “tragically removed by the unnecessary and sudden attack”.

“Being his relative, I will always carry the guilt that he had traveled to England, and I could not protect him,” he said in a message after the judgment. “Ahmad we adore you, we yearn for you and we will feel this way eternally.”

History of the Teenager

The court was told the victim had travelled for 90 days to arrive in Britain from Syria, visiting a asylum seeker facility for teenagers in a city in Wales and attending college in the Welsh city before moving to Huddersfield. The teenager had hoped to work as a medical professional, driven in part by a hope to look after his mother, who was affected by a long-term health problem.