The 15-year-old student from a “loving family” who stabbed a student in the heart asked “how bad have things gotten?” He was sentenced to life imprisonment by the judge who asked:
Alfie Lewis, 15, was murdered outside a primary school in Leeds’ Horsforth area “in full view” of pupils last November.
Bardia Shojaeifard, who was 14 at the time, was found guilty of Alfie’s murder by a Leeds Crown Court jury in April.
On Friday, Shojaeifard, who went to the same school as his victim and was not involved in gangs or drugs, was sentenced to at least 13 years in prison in the same court.
He admitted stabbing Alfie with the 13 cm long kitchen knife he took from home, but denied the murder, claiming that he feared for his life.
Shojaeifard’s name could be made public for the first time after the judge, Mr Justice Cotter, lifted reporting restrictions that prevented him from being identified.
Mr Justice Cotter said: “Many people have asked, and still ask, how it was that such a young man could have carried and used a knife in these appalling circumstances, and wonder how far the scourge of knife crime will permeate our lives. youth unless more is done to prevent this.
“How bad would things get if a seemingly normal 14-year-old boy carried a knife to school and used it on a boy that same school year?”
He said declassifying the defendant would help “vital discussion about the scourge of knife crime, particularly among young people”.
In a statement after the sentencing hearing, Alfie’s family said knife crime was an “epidemic” affecting all children.
They added: “We must continue our efforts to influence the changes needed in the law to stop our babies being so senselessly killed.”
Mr Justice Cotter said people would wonder how a young boy like Shofaeifard, who came from a “loving and supportive family”, could commit such an “extraordinary” crime.
He said Shojaeifard was a “normal 14-year-old kid” who was not involved with drugs or gangs and had no mental health problems.
Youth workers described Shojaeifard as a “kind, intelligent and outspoken” child who “could do well at school” and had the potential to “succeed academically”.
The judge added: “Unlike Alfie, you had no social, emotional or mental needs and when you behaved badly at school it was your choice to do so.”
But the judge said the student had a “worrying interest in knives” and police found several photos of him holding knives on his phone.
Another photo shows Shojaeifard posing with a photoshopped black-handled knife in his hand.
Nicholas Lumley KC, mitigating, said Shojaeifard’s parents were an “extremely decent, supportive, loving” couple who “thrived in this adoptive country”.
Reading a victim impact statement in court, Alfie’s mother Heather Lane addressed the defendant directly, saying: “No punishment will ever be enough for what you did. I will never, ever forgive you.”
Ms Lane sobbed as she said: “We laughed and danced and smiled and loved each other for 15 years and I thought we would for the rest of my life.”
During the hearing, prosecutor Craig Hassall KC said Alfie had been walking down the street to meet friends after leaving Horsforth School on the day the defendant attacked him.
Witnesses said Alfie looked “surprised and shocked” and asked: “What are you doing?” He said he remembered what he said. The incident occurred just before 3pm on 7 November 2023 near St Margaret’s Primary School.
The prosecutor said: “He approached (the defendant) and stabbed him twice, once in the chest and once in the leg.
“He collapsed and died on the road near the primary school, in front of the eyes of many students leaving the school and people waiting to pick them up.”
He told the jury that the defendant, who left the murder weapon near the primary school, was captured on security cameras fleeing the scene.
The court heard all witnesses were “consistent” in saying Alfie “was not aggressive” that day.
The defendant told the jury he was afraid of Alfie after two incidents in previous months.
Mr Justice Cotter said he strongly disagreed with Shojaeifard’s evidence that he “tried to scare Alfie and waved the knife aimlessly”.
He said a witness described Shojaeifard’s attack as “bad” and that he “did his best to cause some sort of harm to Alfie”.
He added: “Knives have stolen the lives of many; You and others must understand how dangerous this obsession is.
“If it weren’t for your interest in knives, Alfie would be here today.”