Jurors found Mohammed Umar Khan guilty by a majority of 11 to one after deliberating for over 14 hours. Photo / South Yorkshire Police
A 15-year-old boy who murdered a fellow student danced as he waved the knife used in the attack, a court heard.
Mohammed Umar Khan stabbed Harvey Willgoose to death with a 13cm serrated-edged hunting knife at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield, England, in February.
Pupils fled in “fear and panic” and locked themselves in cupboards during the attack, for which Khan was found guilty of murder at Sheffield Crown Court in August.
Video footage released today showed the killer with the knife he had used to stab Harvey, 15, after they had fallen out on the social media platform Snapchat.
Throughout his trial, Khan could not be identified because he is under the age of 18, but the judge in the case, Justice Ellenbogen, lifted an order banning his identification following applications from a number of media organisations.
She sentenced the killer to life with a minimum term of 16 years today, as she said his age was not a sufficient reason for him to remain anonymous.
The judge said: “I can’t be sure that you made a beeline to Harvey, given the number of people present. In the courtyard, you saw Harvey walk towards you.”
“It appeared Harvey placed his hand on your right arm and that he said something to you.”
She added that Khan took out the knife and “stabbed Harvey in the chest”, before later describing that the murderer was “dancing on your feet” while waving the knife.
Harvey collapsed 49 seconds later, said the judge.
During the trial, jurors were shown footage of when Harvey was stabbed outside the school cafeteria during a lunch break.
The court heard he told teachers “you know I can’t control it”, as they approached Khan to take the knife out of his hand.
Immediately after the stabbing, he told the school’s headteacher: “I’m not right in the head. My mum doesn’t look after me right.”
Khan later claimed he was carrying the knife for protection after being subjected to racist bullying on social media and taunts about a medical condition.
The jury heard that Khan was asked if he had brought anything into school that he should not have just a few hours before he stabbed Harvey, and he assured the assistant head that he did not.
Following his arrest, Khan was found to have pictures and videos on his phone of him posing with knives, an axe, a machete, and a baseball bat.
These included the knife he used to kill Harvey and a video clip of him brandishing a knife on the grounds of the high school.
The jury heard the boys “had been on good terms” and Khan had previously asked a teacher “if he could sit next to Harvey in science classes”.
However, the pair argued on Snapchat, the social media platform, over the weekend before the stabbing.
Richard Thyne KC, prosecuting, said the argument had stemmed from a fight between two other pupils at the school the week before.
He said Khan had tried to “get involved” in the dispute, which involved one of his friends, and had to be “physically restrained and removed by staff”.
After Khan insisted one of the boys had a knife, the school was put into lockdown and police were called, the court heard, although no knife was found by officers.
Harvey, who was not at school when the fight happened, was afraid to go back afterwards, sending a message to his father saying “am not going in that school while people have knives”.
The incident became “a topic of discussion” in a Snapchat group which included Harvey and Khan, Thyne said, leading to the pair “falling out” after they each sided with a different boy in the dispute.
The pair were described as arguing “non-stop” and were eventually kicked out of the group.
During sentencing, the judge told the court she believed Khan attacked Harvey because of “the hurt and anger at what you considered to be his betrayal of your friendship”.
She said she did not accept that Khan acted in self-defence or out of fear of violence.
The judge said she accepted that Harvey may have made some provocative remarks but these were “not at a level which indicated to you that Harvey posed any real threat at that time, or provides any mitigation for what followed”.
Caroline Willgoose, Harvey’s mother, said: “I feel like a big weight’s been lifted off my shoulders, to be honest. We just need to get on with our lives and try and do good things for our Harvey, for those kids.”
She added: “[Khan] doesn’t look like he’s sorry but I just hope that’s his mask. I’m just glad that I’m never going back into that place [the court] again.
“I’m just going to campaign now against knife crime and for safer schools.”
Sophie Willgoose, Harvey’s older sister, told the court: “This was not just a crime against my brother, it was a crime against all of us who loved him”.
Willgoose said: “The pain will remain with us for the rest of our lives. We want justice not only for Harvey but for the family that will carry his loss forever.”
She added: “The defendant didn’t just end Harvey’s life, he ended ours too”.
Willgoose also described how her grandfather’s health had deteriorated after the murder because Harvey’s death “broke my grandad’s heart”. Her grandfather died recently.
She said the family has been “haunted daily” by the CCTV footage of Harvey’s stabbing, adding that the family had been made to “endure” this because Khan “refused to take any responsibility” for what he had done.
Following the sentencing hearing, All Saints Catholic High School said Harvey is “dearly missed every day by the whole school community”.
It added: “Our thoughts are first and foremost with Harvey’s family, loved ones and friends.
“We cannot begin to imagine the depth of their loss and our deepest sympathies go out to them today and every day ... Harvey was a popular, energetic and fun-loving pupil who is dearly missed every day by the whole school community.”
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