The boyfriend of teenager Holly Newton who was stabbed to death by her jealous ex has spoken out for the first time and revealed he ‘blames himself’.
Alan Lawson, now 18, desperately tried to save Holly and put killer Logan MacPhail in a headlock, being stabbed four times in the process, in January 2023.
He was on a date with Holly, 15, in Hexham, Northumberland, when MacPhail – then 16 – launched his deadly rampage, inflicting 36 knife wounds on his ex including 12 stab wounds.
Alan, who was at the same school as Holly and had been exchanging messages with her on Instagram, met up with the teenager for their first official date on the day she died.
The pair walked into town from school and stopped at a pizza parlour when MacPhail approached Holly, luring her into an alleyway before attacking her.
Alan, who grappled with MacPhail before getting help, told the Sun: ‘I was devastated. I wasn’t thinking about myself, I was thinking about Holly and her family.
‘I have no thoughts for him. I am disgusted. I never thought anyone could do that to another person. I do blame myself a bit. I regret I couldn’t have done more.
‘What else could I have done? runs through my mind.’
Holly Newton, 15, was stabbed to death in a vicious attack by her ex-boyfriend Logan MacPhail (then 16) after she ended their 18-month relationship
Jealous ex-boyfriend Logan Macphail, now 17, has been jailed for murdering 15-year-old Holly Newton after he stalked her and stabbed her to death in January 2023
Holly was dealing with the fallout of the end of her 18-month relationship with MacPhail, who had been stalking her after she broke things off.
He was seen hanging around her house late at night and her family had serious concerns for her safety.
Unbeknownst to Holly, MacPhail had taken a knife from his kitchen and carried it around for days before he had an opportunity to attack her.
Describing the moment MacPhail attacked her, Alan said he heard a deafening scream before he rushed out of the pizza shop and saw the killer ‘on top of’ Holly.
‘It looked like he was hitting her,’ he said, adding: ‘I didn’t see a knife or any blood because it was so dark.
‘I reacted because of the way I was brought up — never let a man touch a woman. I was able to get him off her and got stabbed as I did. I didn’t realise it at the time, it just felt like a jab to the neck.’
Both teenagers were rushed to hospital but shortly after arriving, Alan was informed Holly had died.
Alan spent five days in hospital and needed two surgeries to repair tendons after being stabbed in the thigh, neck and shoulder.
MacPhail approached Holly while she waited outside a pizza shop, before luring her into a nearby alleyway
Chilling CCTV footage shows MacPhail, who was wearing a hat, arrive in Hexham on the afternoon of the killing and put on a face covering before following Holly and her friends
MacPhail followed them undetected for 45 minutes while carrying a knife, before confronting Holly at a bus stop
Holly suffered 36 injuries from the attack with a kitchen knife MacPhail had brought with him
He said he remains traumatized by the attack, struggles to sleep and has nightmares.
Holly had broken up with MacPhail six days before the attack, and the night before her death he had spent hours outside her family home, repeatedly demanding to be let in.
Her mother Micala Trussler had been so concerned over his behaviour that she arranged for a meeting with police officers later that day – but Holly was killed before she could attend.
Chilling CCTV footage shows MacPhail arrive in Hexham on the afternoon of the murder after travelling 40 miles from home. He then followed Holly and her friends unseen for 45 minutes.
During MacPhail’s trial, Holly’s family thanked Alan for intervening and the judge praised his ‘remarkable bravery’.
The killer was convicted and ordered to spend life behind bars with a minimum term of 17 years. He was sentenced to five years concurrently for wounding Alan with intent.
MacPhail told cops it was Holly’s idea to talk in the alleyway and that she had been ‘horrible’ to him
The killer can be seen arriving at Hexham after getting off the bus, having travelled 40 miles
Justice Hilliard said the murder was ‘vicious and brutal’ and told MacPhail: ‘You lured Holly into the alleyway in order to attack her out of sight.
‘In addition, Holly was a child.
‘Although you were not an adult, she was no match for you armed with a knife.
‘She must have realised before she died, I’m afraid, that she was fighting for her life.
‘You made the decision to stab a 15-year-old girl to death with a knife which you were carrying, unlawfully in a public pace, having followed her in secret around town for an hour, all because your relationship with her had ended and you were jealous of the thought she might see someone else.
‘What happened in this case should not have happened to any child or parent and no child or parent should be in fear that it might happen.’
