A Leeds man will spend over two decades behind bars after stabbing a Syrian teen for brushing past his girlfriend.
Leeds Crown Court Judge Howard Crowson sentenced 20-year-old Alfie Franco to life in prison with the possibility of parole for the stabbing death of 16-year-old Ahmad Mamdouh Al Ibrahim. After a six-day trial, Franco was found guilty of murder.
On April 3, Franco, with his girlfriend, had been walking along Ramsden Street in Huddersfield when Al Ibrahim and a friend walked past the couple. The defendant, who had an ice-cream in one hand, retrieved a flick knife from his pocket and confronted the victim.
Onlookers, including children in the busy center, witnessed Franco stab Al Ibrahim seconds after the confrontation. Though first responders rushed the victim to a nearby hospital, he succumbed to his injuries.
During the trial, Franco claimed the attack was due to self-defense because he thought Al Ibrahim had a knife and would have attacked him. However, investigators submitted CCTV footage that showed Franco was the aggressor and the victim had no weapon in his possession. In addition, videos and pictures from the defendant’s phone showed him smoking cannabis with an array of knives in his bedroom prior to the attack. The defendant also had consumed cocaine, diazepam, ketamine, and codeine.
“This was not a mistake or a misconception by you - it was a lie," said Crowson during the sentencing hearing, according to BBC.
Two weeks before the fatal incident, Al Ibrahim, who was a Syrian Refugee, had just moved to Huddersfield to live with his uncle. Upon the news of his loss, Al Ibrahim’s father had reportedly suffered a stroke in Syria.
“I am unable to describe the impact of their heinous crime and the impact it had over everyone. His mother still cries over his clothes as they smell of him,” stated the victim’s uncle, Ghazwan Al Ibrahim, reported The Guardian.
Initially, Franco had pleaded guilty to possessing a knife in a public place. Hence, Crowson sentenced him to an additional 12 months to be served concurrently to the life sentence.
Leave a Reply