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A individual has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 23 years for the murder of a young Syrian asylum seeker after the boy brushed past his companion in Huddersfield town centre.

Court Learns Details of Deadly Altercation

A Leeds courtroom learned how the accused, twenty, stabbed the teenager, 16, not long after the boy brushed past Franco’s girlfriend. He was convicted of murder on Thursday.

The teenager, who had fled war-torn Homs after being wounded in a bombing, had been staying in the West Yorkshire town for only a couple of weeks when he encountered the defendant, who had been for a jobcentre appointment that day and was planning to get cosmetic adhesive with his partner.

Particulars of the Incident

Leeds crown court learned that Franco – who had taken marijuana, a stimulant drug, a prescription medication, an anesthetic and codeine – took “some petty exception” to the boy “without malice” walking past his companion in the road.

Security camera video showed Franco making a remark to the teenager, and summoning him after a brief exchange. As the youth approached, the attacker opened the blade on a switchblade he was concealing in his trousers and drove it into the boy’s neck.

Verdict and Sentencing

The defendant denied murder, but was found guilty by a panel of jurors who took a little more than three hours to decide. He pleaded guilty to carrying a blade in a public space.

While sentencing the defendant on Friday, the presiding judge said that upon spotting the teenager, Franco “identified him as a target and lured him to within your range to strike before ending his life”. He said Franco’s claim to have seen a weapon in the boy's clothing was “false”.

Crowson said of the teenager that “it is a testament to the medical personnel working to keep him alive and his desire to survive he even arrived at the hospital breathing, but in fact his injuries were lethal”.

Relatives Reaction and Message

Presenting a statement written by Ahmad’s uncle the family member, with input from his parents, the prosecutor told the court that the boy's dad had had a heart episode upon hearing the news of his child's passing, necessitating medical intervention.

“It is hard to express the consequence of their terrible act and the effect it had over everyone,” the testimony said. “His mother still weeps over his garments as they remind her of him.”

The uncle, who said the boy was like a son and he felt guilty he could not keep him safe, went on to declare that the victim had thought he had found “a safe haven and the realization of hopes” in the UK, but instead was “tragically removed by the senseless and unprovoked act”.

“As Ahmad’s uncle, I will always feel responsible that the boy had traveled to England, and I could not ensure his safety,” he said in a declaration after the sentencing. “Ahmad we love you, we yearn for you and we will do for ever.”

History of the Victim

The court was told the victim had journeyed for a quarter of a year to reach the UK from Syria, staying at a shelter for youths in the Welsh city and going to school in the local college before arriving in Huddersfield. The teenager had hoped to work as a physician, inspired partially by a desire to care for his mom, who was affected by a long-term health problem.