A 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to a minimum of 13 years in custody for the murder of 12-year-old Leo Ross in Birmingham. Leo was stabbed in the stomach as he walked home from school in Yardley Wood on 21 January 2025 and later died in hospital. The teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, pleaded guilty to murder last month.
Delivering the sentence at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday, Justice Choudhury KC said the defendant had been “engaged in a campaign of violence against several people” and described the ordeal for Leo’s family as a “living hell”. The judge noted that Leo was an innocent schoolboy on his way to meet a friend when he was stabbed and left to die. The killer also admitted to two counts of grievous bodily harm with intent and one count of assault occasioning actual bodily harm from separate attacks in the days before the murder.
Speaking outside court, Leo's mother Rachel Fisher called the sentence a “joke”. She told the Press Association: “It’s a joke. Thirteen years is a complete and utter joke, and it’s just going to keep on happening until something’s done about it. These kids aren’t scared. They aren’t scared of the sentence.” She added that the local authority and police had “a lot to answer for”.
In a statement read by Detective Inspector Joe Davenport, Leo’s foster family, the Westons, said: “Today’s sentencing does not bring justice in the way our hearts long for. No sentence can ever undo or compensate the loss of Leo nor return him to us.” They described the attack as senseless and unprovoked, adding that their family will live with the pain forever.
The killer will remain unnamed for now, but the judge indicated he was willing to lift reporting restrictions. Journalists will be allowed to publish his photograph from 1pm the following day, subject to any appeal from Birmingham Children’s Trust. The defendant’s barrister cited his “formidable mental health problems”, including a history of hearing voices, a diagnosis of childhood conduct disorder, and ADHD.
