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A person has been sentenced to life with a minimum period of 23 years for the killing of a teenage Syrian refugee after the boy walked by his companion in the center of Huddersfield.

Trial Hears Details of Fatal Confrontation

The court in Leeds heard how the defendant, 20, stabbed the victim, aged 16, not long after the young man walked by the defendant's partner. He was convicted of the killing on the fourth day of the week.

The victim, who had fled war-torn Homs after being hurt in a bombing, had been residing in the West Yorkshire town for only a short period when he encountered his attacker, who had been for a jobcentre appointment that day and was going to buy cosmetic adhesive with his girlfriend.

Details of the Attack

The trial learned that the defendant – who had consumed cannabis, a stimulant drug, diazepam, an anesthetic and a painkiller – took “a minor offense” to the teenager “harmlessly” passing by his girlfriend in the street.

Security camera video showed the defendant making a remark to the victim, and gesturing him closer after a brief exchange. As the boy came closer, the attacker opened the blade on a flick knife he was carrying in his pants and drove it into the victim's neck.

Trial Outcome and Judgment

Franco pleaded not guilty to murder, but was found guilty by a jury who took a little more than three hours to decide. He pleaded guilty to possessing a knife in a public space.

While delivering the judgment on last Friday, judge Howard Crowson said that upon observing the victim, Franco “identified him as a target and lured him to within your range to attack before ending his life”. He said Franco’s claim to have seen a weapon in Ahmad’s waistband was “a lie”.

The judge said of Ahmad that “it is a testament to the medical personnel working to keep him alive and his determination to live he even reached the hospital with signs of life, but in reality his trauma were unsurvivable”.

Relatives Impact and Message

Presenting a message written by Ahmad’s uncle his uncle, with help from his family, the legal representative told the court that the teenager’s father had suffered a heart attack upon hearing the news of his boy's killing, necessitating medical intervention.

“I am unable to describe the effect of their awful offense and the impact it had over everyone,” the message said. “His mother still weeps over his garments as they carry his scent.”

He, who said his nephew was like a son and he felt remorseful he could not keep him safe, went on to declare that Ahmad had thought he had found “a safe haven and the fulfilment of dreams” in England, but instead was “cruelly taken away by the unnecessary and sudden attack”.

“Being his relative, I will always bear the shame that he had arrived in Britain, and I could not protect him,” 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 proceedings learned the victim had journeyed for 90 days to arrive in Britain from Syria, staying at a refugee centre for youths in a city in Wales and going to school in the Welsh city before moving to West Yorkshire. The boy had aspired to be a physician, driven in part by a hope to care for his mom, who was affected by a long-term health problem.