Mohammed Umar Khan, 15, gets life for stabbing friend Harvey Willgoose at Sheffield school

A 15-year-old schoolboy has been sentenced to life detention for murdering his classmate, Harvey Willgoose, in a brutal lunchtime attack at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield. Mohammed Umar Khan, who was the same age as his victim, will serve a minimum of 16 years before being considered for release.

Khan, whose anonymity was lifted by Mrs Justice Naomi Ellenbogen during sentencing at Sheffield Crown Court, stabbed Harvey through the heart with a hunting knife in the school courtyard on 3 February. The shocking killing followed a bitter falling out between the former friends after an online quarrel.

Harvey’s mother, Caroline Willgoose, described the verdict as a relief. Speaking outside court, she said she felt “like a big weight has been lifted off my shoulders.” She revealed that her father, who had been undergoing cancer treatment during the trial, had passed away the previous week, calling it “heartbreaking” that he didn’t live to see the outcome. “I do feel that he is with him,” she added, recalling how Harvey and his grandfather had been “best friends” and were building a summer house together.

Mrs Willgoose said she was glad the minimum term had been raised above the legal minimum of 15 years, adding that she took comfort in seeing “knife arches” installed in local schools thanks to the family’s campaign to curb youth violence.

The court heard that Khan and Harvey had previously taken opposing sides in a conflict between other pupils, which led to a school lockdown just days before the killing. On the day of the attack, CCTV footage captured Khan approaching Harvey in the courtyard shortly after midday. The pair appeared to exchange words before Khan drew a large knife and stabbed Harvey once in the chest, severing a rib and piercing his heart.

Witnesses described scenes of “chaos,” with pupils “running and screaming everywhere.” Khan fled but was later arrested. During the trial, he told jurors he had not intended to kill Harvey, claiming he “snapped” and could not remember what happened. He said he had endured racist taunts, bullying, and neglect at home, and had been emotionally and physically abused.

The prosecution, however, said Khan acted out of anger and “wanted to show he was hard.” Jurors heard how he had developed an “unhealthy interest in weapons,” searched online for “zombie killer knives,” and posed for photographs brandishing knives and an axe to intimidate others.

Sentencing him, Mrs Justice Ellenbogen said the attack was a “serious crime carried out by one pupil on another on school property with a knife he brought into school.” She said Khan was “the aggressor” who acted “in hurt and anger” at what he saw as a betrayal of friendship.

In lifting his anonymity, the judge said knife crime among young people was “of substantial public interest,” and that the public “will wish to know the identity of those who commit such offences” in understanding how such violence could occur.

Harvey’s school paid tribute to him in an emotional statement, calling him a “popular, energetic and fun-loving pupil who is dearly missed every day.” All Saints Catholic High School said it would continue working with authorities on ongoing investigations into the tragedy.

Detective Chief Inspector Andy Knowles of South Yorkshire Police praised the Willgoose family’s strength and condemned Khan’s “misguided belief that carrying a knife would make him safer.” He added: “That knife had devastating consequences — not just for Harvey and his family, but for Khan himself. One split-second decision changed countless lives forever.”

The case has reignited calls for tougher action to tackle knife crime in schools. For Harvey’s family, the hope is that his death will serve as a warning — and that no other parent will endure the same unbearable loss.