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A man has been jailed for life with a lowest sentence of 23 years for the homicide of a teenage Syrian asylum seeker after the boy passed his companion in the center of Huddersfield.

Court Hears Details of Fatal Altercation

The court in Leeds was told how the accused, aged 20, stabbed the victim, 16, shortly after the young man brushed past Franco’s girlfriend. He was convicted of homicide on last Thursday.

The teenager, who had left conflict-ridden his Syrian hometown after being hurt in a blast, had been residing in the Huddersfield area for only a few weeks when he crossed paths with the defendant, who had been for a employment office visit that day and was planning to get eyelash glue with his partner.

Details of the Assault

The trial learned that the accused – who had taken weed, cocaine, diazepam, ketamine and a painkiller – took “a trivial issue” to the boy “harmlessly” passing by his partner in the street.

CCTV footage showed Franco uttering words to the victim, and calling him over after a quick argument. As the boy came closer, the attacker unfolded the knife on a switchblade he was concealing in his trousers and drove it into the boy’s neck.

Verdict and Sentencing

Franco denied murder, but was judged guilty by a jury who deliberated for just over three hours. He admitted guilt to having a knife in a public area.

While handing Franco his sentence on the fifth day of the week, judge Howard Crowson said that upon spotting the teenager, Franco “marked him as a victim and lured him to within your range to strike before killing him”. He said his statement to have noticed a knife in the victim's belt was “a lie”.

The judge said of the teenager that “it is evidence to the medical personnel trying to save his life and his desire to survive he even made it to the hospital alive, but in fact his wounds were fatal”.

Family Impact and Message

Reciting a declaration prepared by Ahmad’s uncle the family member, with input from his parents, the legal representative told the judges that the boy's dad had had a heart episode upon learning of the incident of his boy's killing, leading to an operation.

“It is hard to express the consequence of their awful offense and the effect it had over all involved,” the testimony read. “The boy's mom still sobs over his belongings as they carry his scent.”

He, who said his nephew was as close as a child and he felt ashamed he could not protect him, went on to explain that Ahmad had thought he had found “the land of peace and the realization of hopes” in the UK, but instead was “brutally snatched by the senseless and unprovoked act”.

“As Ahmad’s uncle, I will always feel responsible that he had arrived in Britain, and I could not protect him,” he said in a message after the verdict. “Dear Ahmad we adore you, we long for you and we will do for ever.”

History of the Teenager

The court heard the teenager had journeyed for a quarter of a year to arrive in Britain from Syria, stopping in a shelter for youths in Swansea and going to school in the Swansea area before moving to West Yorkshire. The teenager had aspired to be a medical professional, motivated partly by a hope to support his parent, who suffered from a chronic medical issue.