Sycamore tree sapling planted for Holly on day special to family

A SAPLING grown from the felled Sycamore Gap tree has been planted in memory of a murdered teenager on what would have been her 18th birthday.

- KRISTY DAWSON Reporter kristy. [e-mail]

Holly Newton was 15 years old when she was stabbed to death with a kitchen knife by her ex-boyfriend Logan MacPhail, 17, in Hexham, Northumberland.

MacPhail, then 16, followed Holly around the town for 45 minutes before launching the frenzied attack, which left her with 36 knife wounds, in an alleyway off Priestpopple on Friday, January 27, 2023. A boy, who Holly was with, also suffered knife wounds trying to protect her.

In August last year, MacPhail, of Birtley, Gateshead, was convicted at Newcastle Crown Court of murdering Holly and wounding the other boy with intent. In November 2024, he was handed a life sentence with a minimum term of 17 years.

Following Holly's death, her parents Micala and Lee Trussler, who live in Hexham, set up a not-for-profit organisation called Holly’s Hope.