Overview

• Jurors at Leeds Crown Court found Franco guilty after just over three hours of deliberation for killing 16-year-old Ahmad Mamdouh al Ibrahim.
• CCTV shows Franco calling Ahmad back before producing a concealed flick knife and stabbing him in the neck, causing a 6cm wound and fatal blood loss.
• Franco fled, changed clothes, and later surrendered to police; he had earlier admitted possessing a knife in public.
• During the trial he claimed self-defence, admitted lying about the knife’s origin, and at one point acknowledged he had “murdered” Ahmad under cross-examination.
• Prosecutors cited messages about stabbing, a broader interest in knives, and recent drug use, as Ahmad’s family issued tributes and police highlighted ongoing knife-crime reduction efforts, including a reported 12% fall in Kirklees.