A teenager who fatally stabbed 12-year-old Leo Ross in a park in Birmingham has been named.

Leo was stabbed in the stomach as he walked home through a park in Hall Green on the afternoon of 21 January, 2025.He was found injured near Scribers Lane at around 3:30pm, and died in hospital a few hours later.

Kian Moulton, 15, who previously could not be named due to his age, was sentenced to a minimum of 13-years in custody on Tuesday, 10 February for the murder of Leo.The teenager can now be named after restrictions around the reporting of his identity were lifted by the Judge.

On the day of Leo’s murder, Moulton was seen on CCTV footage riding around on his bicycle in the area around Trittiford Mill Park.There, he encountered Leo and stabbed him before discarding the knife in some bushes by the side of a nearby stream.There is no indication that he and Leo knew one another, and no known motive.

Moulton asked a passer-by to call the police, claiming he had found Leo there and even speaking to officers at the scene.Having lied to them about his involvement, he rode home.Moulton was later identified and arrested at his home address. He did not comment in interviews and refused to give any explanation, though he told officers while being arrested that they wouldn’t find the knife he used to kill Leo.

Detective Inspector Joe Davenport, who led the investigation, said: “This was such a tragic and random act of violence which killed an innocent young boy.”There is no indication Leo and the defendant knew one another – this appears to have been a totally random attack.”From our investigation, it seemed Kian Moulton liked to cause violence before calling the police and watching the chaos he had caused.”The escalation in his violence from previous incidents shows what a truly dangerous individual he is.”We will likely never know why he decided to attack Leo, who was completely innocent.”

‘A need to carry out acts of violence’

During the sentencing at Birmingham Crown Court, Prosecution Rachel Brand KC said that the defendant had attacked women in the days before he killed Leo.

Describing the first incident, Ms Brand said Leo’s killer told an 82-year-old woman, “I tried to drown you, but now I’m going to kill you”, after pushing her into a river and hitting her with her own walking pole.

The woman was walking alone in the country park at some point between 12.30pm and 1.15pm on January 19th when she was injured.

Ms Brand said: “The defendant approached her from behind and pushed her forcefully down and forward. She fell into a ditch next to the river. She believes she had been underwater and found herself soaked.

“The defendant told her, ‘I tried to drown you. But now I’m going to kill you instead’, and he struck her several times with her own walking pole.”

The victim was taken to hospital and was found to have sustained multiple bruises and a laceration to her head, a broken nose and black eyes.

She had also fractured a rib and two of her fingers, which required surgery.

The court heard a 72-year-old woman was attacked the day before he murdered the 12-year-old schoolboy, causing her to bleed “profusely” from a head wound.

Ms Brand said: “(The defendant), on his bicycle, approached her from behind and either pushed or struck her with an object on the left side of her back.

“Before leaving the area, he said ‘I’m sorry’.”

She suffered broken ribs in the attack and had to have hip replacement surgery.

Police described the 15-year-old as someone with “a need to carry out acts of violence” and judge Mr Justice Choudhury KC added that the public would want to know “what could have led a child to commit such acts”.

‘Leo’s life mattered. He will live on in our memories’After sentencing, Leo’s foster family the Westons said: “Today’s sentencing does not bring justice in the way our hearts long for.

“No sentence can ever undo or compensate the loss of Leo nor return him to us. Our family will live with this pain forever.

“Leo was taken from us for no reason in a senseless and unprovoked act of violence. He was deeply loved and should still be here, laughing, living, and sharing life with us.

“We miss him every day, our world has been torn apart and his absence has left a permanent void in our family, one that can never be filled.

“While we acknowledge the court’s decision today, it marks neither closure nor healing.

“It is simply another step in a journey of grief that began the day we lost Leo.

“Our focus remains on remembering who Leo was, not how he was taken from us.

“Leo was a polite, lovely, kind boy, full of life and energy, his presence would light up a room.

“He put others before himself and made friends wherever we went. He was smart and intelligent, loved to learn and teach us fun facts.

“He was loved by so many people for being the way he was.

“Leo’s life mattered. His kindness, his laughter, and his love will always be part of who we are.

“Though he is no longer physically with us, he will live on in our memories, in the stories we share, and in the love we carry for him every day.

“We will miss him always. He will never be forgotten, and he will forever be loved.”