A 15-year-old boy has been sentenced to life with a minimum term of 16 years for murdering Sheffield schoolboy Harvey Willgoose in a lunch break knife attack.
Harvey, also 15, was stabbed twice in the chest by Mohammed Umar Khan outside their school cafeteria in February this year.
At Sheffield Crown Court, Judge Mrs Justice Ellenbogen told Mohammed Umar Khan his “senseless acts” followed a “long-standing interest in weapons”.
She added the murder had a “devastating effect on Harvey’s family” and their lives have been “blighted by your actions”.
As it happened: How sentencing unfolded
Khan, who can now be named after the judge lifted reporting restrictions, took a 13cm hunting knife with him to All Saints Catholic High School.
CCTV showed Harvey arriving at the school, with earlier footage showing the attacker trying to provoke Harvey, who remained calm.
The attacker was also seen in footage holding a knife in the canteen before the stabbing.
Khan had previously admitted to manslaughter but denied murder. But in August, he was found guilty at Sheffield Crown Court by a majority verdict of 11 to one.
Defence lawyers claimed the boy had “lost control” after years of bullying and “an intense period of fear at school”.
He told teachers after the stabbing “you know I can’t control it” and “I’m not right in the head”.
Doesn’t look like he’s sorry
Speaking outside court, Harvey Willgoose’s mother, Caroline, said she was relieved the case was over.
“I feel like a big weight’s been lifted off my shoulders, to be honest. He [Khan] doesn’t look like he’s sorry but I just hope that’s his mask.”
Caroline Willgoose, whose father died last week, also spoke to Sky News about the anti-knife campaigns she was developing following the death of Harvey.
“He were funny, he were caring, and that’s how I want him to be remembered. I hate him being remembered as the schoolkid that got stabbed to death in school. He’d hate that.”
Asked about her thoughts of Khan, she said: “I don’t really have any feelings for him. I don’t know whether they’ll come… but I do feel like he’s been let down. They’ve both been let down.”
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‘Popular, energetic, full-loving’
Steve Davies, chief executive of St Clare Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which operates All Saints Catholic High School, described Harvey as “a popular, energetic and fun-loving pupil who is dearly missed every day by the whole school community”.
He added: “Our thoughts are first and foremost with Harvey’s family, loved ones and friends. We cannot begin to imagine the depth of their loss and our deepest sympathies go out to them today and every day.
“Since the conclusion of the trial, the school and trust have been able to engage fully with a number of ongoing investigations aimed at answering key questions about Harvey’s tragic death. We will continue to work closely with these partners and cooperate fully with these investigations.”
‘Senseless acts’ had ‘devastating effect’
During sentencing on Wednesday, Judge Mrs Justice Ellenbogen told Khan his “senseless acts have had a devastating effect”.
“Harvey’s family is haunted by the CCTV footage of the events of that day, and, exhausted by the trauma in their lives in which his absence is felt every day.”
“It is clear that Harvey was also a popular pupil whom students and teachers held in affection. Their lives, too have been blighted by your actions, which have affected them deeply and will continue to do so.”
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Community left in shock
Mrs Ellenbogen added that Khan had a “long-standing interest in weapons” and images on his mobile phone showed him posing with hunting-style knives, a machete and a hammer.
She told Khan he had a “long-standing inability to manage your anger”, including three separate school incidents between November 2024 and January 2025 in which he had become angry and aggressive.
The judge told him he would serve a minimum term of 16 years minus time spent in custody, which works out at around 15 years 3 months. Khan didn’t show any obvious emotion as the sentence was passed.
Following the murder, the parents of Harvey, Caroline and Mark Willgoose, told Sky News they wanted to see knife arches “in all secondary schools and colleges”.
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‘Our mental health has been destroyed’
Ahead of sentencing, Harvey’s sister, Sophie Willgoose, described in her victim impact statement the family’s “world was shattered forever” after they were told about his murder.
She added: “The defendant didn’t just end Harvey’s life, he ended ours too. Our mental health has been destroyed.”
She described Harvey as a “cheeky character” with a “warmth that made everyone love him”.
Richard Thyne KC, prosecuting, said that while Khan had no previous convictions, he had previously taken an axe and a knife separately onto the school premises.
Khan and Harvey had “fronted up” to one another in confrontations at school, he added.
Attack was ‘split-second decision’
The detective who led the murder investigation said there was evidence Khan was friends with Harvey until days before the fatal incident.
Following the trial, Detective Chief Inspector Andy Knowles said that a relatively trivial incident had led to a “split-second decision to do something which just had dire and terrible consequences”.
“It was the knife that escalated this so quickly and led to consequences which you can’t undo or take back afterwards,” he added.
Focus on knife crime prevention
Kilvinder Vigurs, Sheffield’s deputy mayor for policing and crime, said the trial “marks a difficult moment for our region” and more must be done “to protect our children from the threat of knife crime”.
In a statement, he said: “Knife crime is not just a policing issue, it’s a societal one. Our joint focus must be on prevention, education, and early intervention.”
