AN EXPERT has revealed seven sinister ways Holly Newton’s ex gave himself away as her killer – from using his full name to a desperate bid for sympathy.
Logan MacPhail stalked schoolgirl Holly, 15, before luring her into an alleyway where he knifed her 36 times.
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MacPhail, then aged 16, has today been jailed for Holly’s murder following a trial.
A CCTV clip shows how McPhail led Holly into an alleyway before attacking her.
Bodycam footage also shows the teen’s reaction when he was arrested by police.
The killer has now been jailed for life with a minimum term of 15 years and 89 days after he was previously convicted of murder.
Expert criminologist Professor David Wilson said MacPhail showed seven key traits of a cold-blooded killer.
1. ‘Classic stalker behaviour’
On January 27 last year, MacPhail followed Holly for 45 minutes around Hexham, Northumberland making sure he was “careful not to be seen”.
Haunting footage shows him staring at her as she enters a pizza restaurant with a teen pal.
Prof Wilson said: “Experts speak about FOUR classic aspects of stalking behaviour – it is fixated, obsessive, unwanted and repetitive.
“The teen was fixated. He followed Holly for an hour, going down stairs and into alleyways.
“We know that he had alarmed Holly and that she had made clear the relationship was over.
“That rejection became an obsession for him and resulted in clear premeditation of her murder.”
Holly sent a message to a pal about the obsessed 16-year-old hours before he ambushed her.
She wrote: “Apparently (the boy) is gonna meet to me outside of school.
“So he’s basically stalking me at this point. He’s gonna follow me until I talk to him.”
2. Wears mask
MacPhail is then captured on CCTV chatting with Holly in a bus stop after she agreed to speak to him.
Seconds later, he lured her down an alleyway and stabbed her “many, many times”.
Prof Wilson said: “Another thing that shows clear premeditation is obviously the teen putting on a mask.
“He also wears a baseball cap and look around him to make sure he is not being recognised or drawing attention.”
3. Brings knife
Staff at the pizza restaurant heard Holly screaming and rushed out to find MacPhail attacking her with a kitchen knife he brought from home.
Prof Wilson said: “He carried a kitchen knife for the duration he was stalking Holly before then attacking her with it.
“He also took measures to conceal it in his trousers while following her.
“This was a vital detail in the prosecution’s case in that it showed clear premeditation and thought behind the attack.”
4. Gives full name to cops
Holly was taken to hospital after suffering 36 injuries – including 12 stab wounds and 19 slash injuries – in less than a minute.
Tragically she couldn’t be saved and was declared dead shortly after the horror.
When he was arrested, MacPhail told police: “I was meant to kill myself but it went too far.”
Prof Wilson said: “We see from the bodycam footage of his arrest that the teen gives officers his full name.
“Not only that, he also gives them Holly’s full name when asked. It reminds me of the way people speak when examined in court.
“This may seem a small detail but it is revealing about his apparent composure and premeditation of the attack.”
5. Controls emotions
Staff at the restaurant managed to “forcibly” remove MacPhail, who claimed Holly had been “horrible” or “awful” to him.
He then added: “Oh what have I done?”
Prof Wilson said: “The teen knew that if he appeared in a disinhibited or disorderly way he would have scared Holly.
“So he controlled his emotions. The footage shows he was consciously aware of his behaviour and body movements.
“Although he was clearly no master criminal, this was thought through.”
6. Tries to evoke sympathy
During his evidence, MacPhail claimed was not an entirely bad person as he “helps baby birds and stuff”.
The boy also told jurors he could not remember stabbing Holly but did recall getting a bus to Hexham that day.
Nigel Edwards KC, defending, asked: “The night that Holly died, when you go to Hexham, what is it you want to do?”
The boy replied: “It wasn’t for going there to hurt her or kill her, it wasn’t for that.”
Asked what he had wanted to do that day, he said: “To try and take my own life.”
Prof Wilson said: “In the arrest footage the teen tells officers he can’t read or write and that he doesn’t know his address.
“It’s a manipulative bid to evoke sympathy. He is fully aware of what he has done.”
7. Sheer duration
Prof Wilson said: “This was not like most murders, which can be described as five minutes of madness.
“In these classic five-minute scenarios, a young man who is often in the company of young men lashes out.
“This may be over a loss of status or a perceived threat to it. In five minutes the victim is killed and the killer ultimately goes to prison.
“But that is not what’s going on here. Holly’s murder was a long, drawn-out process.
“It had to be premeditated for the teen to carry out the attack in the way he did.”
The expert added: “He was focused on killing Holly with no thought for what came after.
“He did not have the normal psychological resources to cope with rejection.
“To regain his sense of who he was he reacted in a grotesque and awful way – by taking Holly’s life.”
