A teenager has pleaded guilty to the murder of a 12-year-old boy from Birmingham.
Leo Ross suffered fatal injuries after he was stabbed in the stomach while on a riverside path in the Hall Green area of the city in January last year.
The 15-year-old killer, who was 14 at the time of the fatal attack, cannot be named for legal reasons.
The boy also admitted two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent and assault occasioning actual bodily harm in relation to previous attacks on separate victims, as well as having a bladed article on the day he murdered Leo.
He denied assault occasioning actual bodily harm and assault by beating in relation to two other people and those charges were ordered to lie on file.
Leo was walking home from the Christ Church, Church of England Secondary Academy in Yardley Wood when he was stabbed in the random and unprovoked attack.
His foster family, the Westons, said his loss had impacted them “deeply and his absence is felt constantly”.
Leo’s birth mother, Rachel Fisher, described her son as the “sweetest, most kind-hearted boy”.
She added: “My baby’s life was stolen for no reason whatsoever. My life will never be the same again without him.”
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Subsequent police inquiries established that the murder weapon was thrown into a nearby river. The killer, riding a bike, was also found to have previously hunted down and attacked several women in local parkland.
West Midlands Police also found that the killer opted to hang around to talk to officers at the murder scene, falsely claiming he had stumbled across Leo lying fatally injured beside the River Cole.
The teenager’s guilty pleas were entered more than six months after a trial was postponed to allow psychiatric experts to assess the defendant.
Sentencing will take place at Birmingham Crown Court on 10 February, with Judge Paul Farrer KC remanding the boy into youth detention meantime.
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Detective Inspector Joe Davenport described it as a “heartbreaking and senseless attack”.
He added: “Because of this boy’s actions, Leo and his family have been robbed of the life he could have lived.
“I’d like to thank the members of the community who tried to save Leo’s life, as well as the paramedics at the scene.
“Thanks to the public, who responded to our appeals for information and provided witness accounts and images, we were able to piece together the events which led to Leo’s death.
“Our thoughts remain with Leo’s family and we hope they can gain some closure knowing justice has been done.”
