LEO'S FINAL JOURNEY

SCHOOLBOY SEEN ON CCTV WALKING HOME BEFORE BEING FATALLY STABBED BY TEEN

- BEN PERRIN and CARL JACKSON

THIS is the last heartbreaking CCTV footage of Leo Ross alive during his final walk home from school before he was knifed to death in a senseless act of violence.

The 12-year-old was fatally stabbed in the stomach by a youth he did not know, who was aged just 14 at the time, at The Shire Country Park in Hall Green, Birmingham, on January 21 last year.

The 14-year-old boy was later arrested and charged, while also being accused of a number of further attacks. Yesterday, at Birmingham Crown Court, he pleaded guilty to murdering Leo.

The defendant, who has since turned 15, also pleaded guilty to causing grievous bodily harm with intent to a woman on January 19 last year and a similar charge involving a different woman on January 20 last year.

He further admitted assaulting a woman on the same day he attacked Leo, and possessing a bladed article on the same date.

The CCTV images show the schoolboy walking along the pavement after finishing at Christ Church CofE Secondary School for the day. He then disappears from view and is not seen again.

Separate CCTV images show the killer heading to and from the crime scene on his bike. They show him circling the area "searching for his next victim".

Det Insp Joe Davenport, who is in charge of the case, told the Birmingham Mail: "From what we know of Leo, from his school records and from the teachers that we have spoken to, he was a lovely boy.