Killer of 12-year-old Leo Ross named

The killer of 12-year-old schoolboy Leo Ross has been named after a court order protecting his anonymity was lifted.

Kian Moulton, who was 14 at the time of the attack, stabbed Leo in the stomach while he was walking home from school in Birmingham in January 2025.

Moulton, now aged 15, was sentenced to a minimum term of 13 years at Birmingham Crown Court on Tuesday, having pleaded guilty to murder last month.

He also admitted a string of other offences after he attacked three elderly women in the days leading up to the killing, with two of them suffering severe injuries.

Birmingham Crown Court heard the defendant was "a young man with formidable mental health problems" but knew and was aware of the consequences of his actions.

Judge Mr Justice Choudhury KC said Moulton chose Leo because he was a smaller boy.

He added that after the attack, the teenager had cycled around Trittiford Mill Park telling people a boy had been stabbed.

Moulton returned to the scene to observe what happened after he stabbed Leo and even spoke with police officers there - being captured on their body cameras.

The defendant appeared to get "pleasure from seeing the consequences" of his actions, the judge said.

The teenager also pleaded guilty to two counts of causing grievous bodily harm with intent, and one of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, over the three separate attacks on elderly women.

Moulton lived less than half a mile away from the country park where he attacked Leo and the three women.

One resident, who had been a close family friend of the teenager, said his crimes had torn apart what was once a close-knit community.

She said neighbours who used to sit outside together on summer evenings were no longer speaking.

"We've all separated," she said.

She said she had even taken the boy on holiday with her own family.

"I've had [him] in my house," she said.

However, she described years of police visits to the home over the boy's behaviour, and a history of him "running off [and] going missing".

"We were going over parks to try and find him in the dark," she added.

"That kid did not want to come home."

Another woman, who had lived on the street for decades, remembered Moulton as once a "kind and nice kid" who used to bring her food and drinks as a young boy.

"It was really shocking," she recalled.

"I looked on the news and I was like oh my God, I knew that kid when he was a baby, he wasn't like that," she added, while acknowledging that there was trouble as he became older, with tellings-off by his father sometimes spilling into the street.

The 15-year-old was given a life sentence on Tuesday, but told he would be eligible for parole after 13 years, and would remain on licence for life.

Decisions to lift reporting restrictions when under 18s are sentenced are never taken lightly.

Lengthy discussions took place in court on Tuesday ahead of the sentencing. Applications were made by Birmingham Live, the Daily Mail and the BBC, and were supported by other news organisations.

Mr Justice Choudhury said he believed there was a strong public interest in this case and that outweighed arguments made by Moulton's lawyers to protect his identity.

The escalation of the teenager's offending played a part in his decision, he said, adding that by the time of his third attack on a vulnerable elderly woman, a pattern had been established.

The judge also said public concern about knife crime played a factor in his decision.

Moulton had shown no obvious sign of remorse, nor had he shown any positive signs of rehabilitation since he had been detained.

Asked about this by the judge, defence barrister Alistair Webster KC, told the court that it had been "one step forwards and two steps back", but argued that identifying the teenager would pose a risk to his rehabilitation.

Prosecution counsel Rachel Brand KC told the court the Crown was "neutral" on the issue of lifting reporting restrictions.

Birmingham Children's Trust had sought an extension of 24 hours to a stay on reporting Moulton's identity, but said its application had been refused.

The trust said it intended to apply for a judicial review of the decision to name the teenager, but on Thursday afternoon it said it had not made that application.

It said would be participating in a local child safeguarding practice review along with other agencies to identify any learning.

During Tuesday's hearing, Moulton showed little emotion.

He had grown a lot since his first appearance at Birmingham Magistrates' Court a year ago.

He sat mostly with his head slightly bowed. The only exception came when Christopher Ross, Leo's father, addressed him directly as he began reading his victim impact statement, and said "look up man, you killed my son".

Amy Weston, a member of Leo's foster family, also addressed the defendant and said: "Leo was a small defenceless child, as vulnerable as they come. It was sickening.

"What you did was wicked, senseless and unforgivable."

Leo's biological mother, Rachel Fisher, branded the 13-year sentence as a "joke".

Speaking outside the court after Moulton's sentencing, Fisher said: "Thirteen years is a complete and utter joke, and it's just going to keep on happening and keep on happening until something's done about it."

Tim Boyes was the acting head at Leo's school Christ Church C of E Secondary Academy at the time of the attack and said he remembered Leo as "a quirky, lovable, bright, unusual little boy".

"For a 12-year-old, he was quite young and he had a naivety and simplicity," he said.

Boyes said unlike many boys his age who were into football, Leo was "passionate about fossils".

Det Insp Joe Davenport said there was no indication Leo and his killer knew each other, so it had been a "totally random attack".

He described the killer as a "truly dangerous individual", saying: "We will likely never know why he decided to attack Leo, who was completely innocent.

"From our investigation, it seemed he liked to cause violence before calling the police and watching the chaos he had caused."

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