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A man has been jailed for life with a lowest sentence of 23 years for the homicide of a young Syrian asylum seeker after the victim passed his companion in Huddersfield town centre.

Court Learns Details of Deadly Confrontation

The court in Leeds heard how the defendant, aged 20, attacked with a knife the victim, 16, soon after the teenager passed Franco’s girlfriend. He was convicted of murder on Thursday.

The victim, who had escaped battle-scarred Homs after being hurt in a explosion, had been living in the Huddersfield area for only a short period when he encountered Franco, who had been for a meeting at the job center that day and was going to buy cosmetic adhesive with his female companion.

Particulars of the Assault

The trial heard that the accused – who had used weed, cocaine, a prescription medication, an anesthetic and codeine – took “a trivial issue” to the teenager “without malice” going past his partner in the street.

CCTV footage revealed Franco saying something to the victim, and calling him over after a quick argument. As the youth walked over, the attacker unfolded the knife on a flick knife he was holding in his trousers and thrust it into the victim's neck.

Trial Outcome and Judgment

The accused denied murder, but was judged guilty by a panel of jurors who deliberated for just over three hours. He pleaded guilty to carrying a blade in a public space.

While handing Franco his sentence on last Friday, the court judge said that upon observing the victim, Franco “singled him out and enticed him to within your range to assault before killing him”. He said Franco’s claim to have seen a weapon in Ahmad’s waistband was “untrue”.

Crowson said of the victim that “it is a testament to the doctors and nurses trying to save his life and his determination to live he even arrived at the hospital breathing, but in reality his injuries were fatal”.

Family Reaction and Statement

Reading out a statement prepared by the victim's uncle the family member, with contributions from his mother and father, Richard Wright KC told the court that the teenager’s father had experienced cardiac arrest upon hearing the news 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 victim's mother still cries over his garments as they carry his scent.”

The uncle, who said the boy was dear to him and he felt guilty he could not keep him safe, went on to state that the victim had thought he had found “a safe haven and the realization of hopes” in Britain, but instead was “brutally snatched by the pointless and random violence”.

“Being his relative, I will always bear the shame that the boy had traveled to England, and I could not keep him safe,” he said in a statement after the judgment. “Dear Ahmad we care for you, we long for you and we will continue always.”

Background of the Victim

The proceedings heard the teenager had made his way for 90 days to get to England from Syria, stopping in a refugee centre for youths in the Welsh city and studying in the Welsh city before relocating to Huddersfield. The teenager had hoped to work as a doctor, motivated partly by a hope to care for his mom, who had a long-term health problem.