Teenager guilty of murdering boy at NYE event

An teenager has been found guilty of murdering 16-year-old Harry Pitman, who was stabbed in the neck at a New Year's Eve event in north London.

Areece Lloyd-Hall was convicted at the Old Bailey following a retrial after jurors in the first trial were unable to reach a verdict.

Lloyd-Hall, from Westminster, was found guilty by a majority of 11 to one after almost eight hours of deliberation. He had already been convicted of possessing an offensive weapon.

The fatal stabbing took place at Primrose Hill on 31 December 2023 after Harry accidentally bumped into another boy while "play-fighting" and practising high kicks, the jury was told.

Prosecution barrister Jocelyn Ledward KC told jurors "revelry turned to tragedy in the blink of an eye".

Harry and Lloyd-Hall were strangers who had each gone to watch the fireworks with separate groups of friends.

Earlier that evening, Special Constable David Smith said Harry had seemed excitable and "physically bounced" up to him for a friendly chat before "fist bumping" another reveller nearby.

The attack happened in front of a crowd gathered in the popular park to watch fireworks over the River Thames.

Lloyd-Hall, now aged 18, pushed forward and lunged at Harry with a pointed dagger, metres from where uniformed police officers were stationed.

In "shocking" mobile phone footage played in court, a knife sheath was seen to fly through the air during the fast-paced incident.

Harry held his neck, his white T-shirt covered in blood, as he pushed through crowds calling to officers for "help".

He collapsed and died minutes later, shortly before midnight.

College student Lloyd-Hall, who was 16 at the time, claimed he thought he had only hit Harry with the sheath in an attempt to get Harry away from him.

He said: "I did not want him to lose his life.

"I feel horrible for what I caused. It was not my intention."

He said he ran off not realising what had happened because he was holding a knife and knew there were police officers nearby.

Jurors were told Lloyd-Hall was suffering from cannabis-induced paranoia and may have suffered post-traumatic stress disorder triggered by witnessing the aftermath of an earlier stabbing and the loss of a friend to knife crime in June 2023.

At the first trial in October last year, a jury found Lloyd-Hall guilty of possession of an offensive weapon but failed to agree on other charges, it can now be reported.

There were gasps from Harry's family sitting in court as Lloyd-Hall was convicted of murder.

The teenager will be sentenced at the Old Bailey on 10 November.