Mohammed Umar Khan, who was found guilty of murdering 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose in August, was sentenced on Wednesday at Sheffield Crown Court. Khan’s identity had been kept from the public because of his age, but was lifted by the judge during sentencing, reports LBC.
The court heard that Khan brought a large hunting knife to All Saints Catholic High School on February 3, where he attacked Harvey in front of horrified classmates. Several students ran for safety, with some locking themselves in a cupboard. Harvey was stabbed twice. One of the wounds pierced his heart.
Khan showed no reaction as he stood in the dock while Justice Ellenbogen handed down the sentence. She told him there were “records which showed an inability to manage your anger” and reminded him that he had been warned by police weeks before the attack.
In December 2024, an officer visited Khan’s home after his mother found photos of him posing with weapons. “He advised you about the dangers of carrying weapons, advice which you ignored,” the judge said.
The court was shown photos and videos from Khan’s phone showing him holding knives and searching online for weapons. Evidence also revealed that he had previously brought a knife onto school grounds and had multiple incidents of aggression toward teachers and property in the months before the killing.
Jurors were told the stabbing came days after tensions between the two teens. The pair had clashed online after a school lockdown incident in late January, when Khan tried to intervene in a fight and claimed another boy had a knife. No weapon was found, but Harvey later told his father he wouldn’t return to school “while people have knives.”
During the sentencing, the court heard that after the stabbing, Khan told the head teacher: “I’m not right in the head. My mum doesn’t look after me right.” Assistant headteacher Morgan Davis, who disarmed him, said Khan also muttered, “You know I can’t control it.”
Khan’s defense argued that he “snapped” after years of bullying and fear at school. But the jury rejected that claim.
Harvey’s family has since campaigned against knife crime, calling for metal detectors in schools. “Harvey was full of life, warm, funny, and caring,” his sister Sophie said outside court. “This tragedy has not only devastated our family but rippled across the country.”
