'He enjoyed hurting people': Teen attacked others before murdering schoolboy, 12

A teenage killer who murdered a 12-year-old boy in Birmingham "enjoyed hurting people" and had a history of targeting vulnerable victims.

Det Insp Joe Davenport said the teenager, who cannot be named for legal reasons, would attack victims for "violence sake".

"He enjoyed hurting people and he enjoyed watching the chaos that unfolded," he said.

Before the murder, the teenager had attacked people in the same area on the 19, 20 and earlier on 21 January 2025, the latter being the same day he killed Leo.

In the most serious incident, he beat an elderly woman with her own walking stick and then threw her in a river.

Davenport said the killer targeted people "he knew he could beat and would easily overpower".

After stabbing Leo, the killer returned to the scene to observe the aftermath and even spoke with police officers who had responded to the attack.

Davenport said they found his behaviour "odd" with some interactions standing out as "being really unusual".

"For example, he said that he didn't touch him, so he's not involved in the case. Just a really unusual thing to say," the officer explained.

"He was wearing dark clothing with his hood up - it felt unusual to be dressed in that way.

"The fact that he's continued to do it and has hung around afterwards, waiting to see what happens, it's like he was enjoying seeing what he's done."

After the stabbing, West Midlands Police said the killer tried to throw his weapon into the river but it landed on the river bank.

The knife was later recovered by police with the killer's DNA on it as well as the DNA of Ross.

"That proved to be the critical evidence in the case," said Davenport.