A 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to life imprisonment with a minimum term of 16 years for the murder of fellow pupil Harvey Willgoose. Mohammed Umar Khan was handed the sentence by Mrs Justice Naomi Ellenbogen at a hearing on Wednesday, after being found guilty in August of stabbing Harvey at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield.
The judge lifted an anonymity order previously protecting Khan's identity, ruling that his age alone did not justify continued secrecy. CCTV footage showed Khan pushing Harvey in school corridors before producing a 13cm hunting knife and stabbing him twice in the chest during a lunchbreak on 3 February. One wound penetrated Harvey's ribs and struck his heart.
The court heard that the attack followed a dispute over a school lockdown and social media argument. Khan claimed he acted in self-defence after years of bullying, but the judge rejected this, stating he was the aggressor and that Harvey posed no real threat. Khan showed no emotion or remorse as the sentence was read.
After the stabbing, Khan told the headteacher: "I'm not right in the head. My mum doesn't look after me right" and "you know I can't control it." His phone contained images of him posing with knives, and internet searches for weaponry. Defence barrister Gul Nawaz Hussain KC said Khan had "snapped" under intense fear at school, but acknowledged the crime was inexcusable.
Harvey's sister Sophie told the court the family's pain would last a lifetime, adding that Khan "didn't just end Harvey's life, he ended ours too." The family has since campaigned against knife crime and established a youth club in Harvey's memory. The school said it has engaged with investigations into the tragedy.
