Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Old Bailey Jury Convicts Teen of Primrose Hill New Year’s Eve Murder

Sentencing is set for 10 November after jurors convicted him following a retrial built on mobile-phone footage alongside DNA from a knife sheath.

Overview

  • Areece Lloyd-Hall, 18, was found guilty of murdering 16-year-old Harry Pitman with a single stab wound to the neck during the 2023 New Year’s Eve gathering on Primrose Hill.
  • The jury returned a majority verdict of 11–1 after nearly eight hours of deliberation, following an earlier trial that failed to reach a verdict.
  • Mobile-phone video played in court showed the scuffle and a sheath flying through the air at the moment the fatal blow was delivered.
  • Forensic analysis linked a scabbard left at the scene to Lloyd-Hall’s DNA, and he had previously pleaded guilty to possessing the knife.
  • Lloyd-Hall told the court he believed the blade was sheathed and claimed self-defence, then fled and discarded items before attending a police station with his father on January 4, 2024.