BRAZEN SLAYING 

Moment shameless teen killer pretends to be hero bystander after knifing schoolboy, 12, to death in random attack

Teen also carried out string of attacks on elderly women

THIS is the moment a killer teen pretended to be a hero bystander after he stabbed a 12-year-old boy to death in a random attack.

Leo Ross was walking home from school when the 14-year-old knifed him in the stomach in The Shire Country Park, Birmingham.

Leo Ross smiling in his school uniform.
Leo Ross was murdered as he walked home from schoolCredit: Supplied
 

Overhead view of a person on a bicycle on a dirt path with a West Midlands Police logo and red arrow pointing forward.
Footage showed his killer hunting for a victim
 

A person in a black coat and hoodie walks down a sidewalk next to a street with a parked white car.
Leo was walking home from school at the time
 

Body-cam footage showing a blurred youth in a black coat pointing, telling police how he found Leo Ross.
He then spoke to officers and tried to act as a hero bystanderCredit: SWNS
The killer, who can’t be named, was captured in chilling footage cycling around the park as Leo made his way back to his foster parents’ home.

After murdering the schoolboy, he then pretended to play the hero as he called police and claimed he had stumbled across Leo’s body.

He told officers: “I seen him and I seen this woman – she was walking down so I told her to call you guys.

“Then I went to get some help from different people, and that’s all I know about it.

“He was laid there like that when I got here, and that’s all I know about it.”

After being asked if he had seen anyone near Leo, the youth added: “I’ve seen him and then as I was looking… I didn’t touch him because that could put me in the case.

“But I’ve seen her (a female passer-by) – she was walking there. So then I came and told her to call the police.”

The killer pleaded guilty to murder at Birmingham Crown Court today.

He 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.

The boy, who further admitted having a bladed article, 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.

The court heard the teen – now aged 15 – also carried out a string of chilling attacks on several women leading up to Leo’s killing because he wanted to inflict “violence purely for violence’s sake”.

He had waited in the park for another victim when he saw Leo walking home in his school uniform.

After stabbing him to death, the boy threw the knife in a nearby river.

He then hung around to talk to officers at the murder scene – falsely claiming he had stumbled across Leo lying injured beside the River Cole.

The killer also encountered one of Leo’s friends and told them “your mate has just been stabbed” before riding back towards the scene.

Detective Inspector Joe Davenport from West Midlands Police said he loitered at the scene of the attack because he liked to watch the “chaos of his actions unfold”.

He also confirmed the boy was “known” to the police but did not have an extensive criminal record.

The officer added: “This was unprecedented and was a completely shocking incident, as were all the connected incidents, to see this sort of chaos evolve over the three days tragically culminating in Leo’s death.”

Judge Paul Farrer KC said sentencing would be set for February 10 and would likely last the full day.

Leo, a pupil at the Christ Church, Church of England Secondary Academy in Yardley Wood, died after being taken to hospital.

Leo’s birth mother, Rachel Fisher, added: “My son Leo was the sweetest, most kind-hearted boy. He didn’t have a bad bone in his body.

“My baby’s life was stolen for no reason whatsoever.

“My life will never be the same again without him. He will be loved and missed forever.”

Jonathan Roe, from the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “This was a senseless act of violence that has devastated a family and robbed a 12-year-old boy of his life.

“Leo Ross should have had his whole future ahead of him, and he should have been able to walk home from school without harm.

“It seems unimaginable that a 14-year-old would use a knife to intend to murder another or seriously injure them causing their death, but that is what occurred on that day.

“The defendant’s guilty plea today means Leo’s loved ones have at least been spared the ordeal of a trial. Our thoughts remain with them as they continue to cope with this unimaginable loss.

“There are no excuses for carrying a knife and I hope this case serves as a reminder of the devastating consequences of carrying and using knives.”

Leo Ross, 12, smiling and standing in a bowling alley in front of pins and screens.
Leo was wearing his school uniform at the timeCredit: PA
 

Tributes to murdered schoolboy Leo Ross at Shire Country Park, Birmingham, with flowers, candles, and a teddy bear placed behind police tape.
His killer also attacked elderly women leading up to the horrorCredit: Simon Jones
 

Two police officers in high-visibility jackets walk past a graffiti-covered wall at Shire Country Park.
He was knifed in the stomachCredit: Simon Jones