Mohammed Umar Khan, now formally named as the killer of Harvey Willgoose, has been sentenced to a minimum 16 years imprisonment for the fatal stabbing earlier this year at All Saints Catholic High School in Sheffield.
The 15-year-old, who was publicly named by Mrs Justice Ellenbogen DBE this morning, was ordered to serve a term of 15 years and 106 days in juvenile detention, before being considered for release on licence by the Parole Board.
The sentencing hearing, which followed a five-week high-profile trial that generated widespread public interest both within Sheffield and beyond, took place at Sheffield Crown Court this morning at 10:30am.
The hearing began with Justice Ellenbogen leaving the courtroom to consider lifting the reporting restriction on the under-18 defendant, following four seperate applications from different media outlets.
Upon returning to the courtroom over an hour later with the decision, Justice Ellenbogen formally ruled to lift the anonymity order and name the young killer under grounds of public interest.
Khan, who goes by the name ‘Umar’, was found guilty of murdering his fellow student, 15-year-old Harvey Willgoose, at Sheffield Crown Court on August 8, 2025.
During the trial, jurors heard that the defendant fatally stabbed Willgoose with a hunting knife to the heart on Monday 3 February, 2025, following an earlier altercation in class at their school on Granville Road.
Today, Harvey Willgoose’s sister, Sophie Willgoose, read a powerful statement on behalf of the bereaved family at Sheffield Crown Court, detailing the devastating emotional impact of the ‘caring and loving’ teenager’s death.
The court was also informed of the tragic passing of Harvey’s grandfather last week, John, whom the victim’s mother previously described as Harvey’s ‘best friend’.
Despite falling ill just a month after his grandson’s murder, John attended every court hearing, choosing to focus on seeking ‘justice’ rather than his own rest and recovery.
Prosecutor Richard Thyne KC told the court that Khan’s main defence of suffering a ‘legal loss of control’ the moment he killed Harvey was actually an act driven “ultimately in anger or retaliation, rather than self-defence.”
Gul Nawaz Hussain KC, defending, opened his address by telling the court that the ‘tragic, heartless, senseless loss of a young innocent life’ is a ‘fact that can never be forgotten, should never be forgotten’.
He added that the Willgoose family’s loss will remain with them ‘forever more’, a reality ‘that is not lost on Umar, or his family’.
Hussain KC further told the court that although Umar armed himself at school with a knife, it ‘wasn’t with the intention of inflicting harm that day’.
After hearing all the evidence, Justice Ellenbogen said: ‘Your senseless act has had a devastating effect on Harvey’s family.
”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.
”Your history of carrying weapons, the fact that your offence took place on school premises, and the fact that numerous pupils and teachers were present at the time are all aggravating factors in this case.
”I have had regard to your difficult family circumstances and your upbringing, the bullying as a result and to the separate racist bullying that you have endured.
”Taking account of all of the aggravating and mitigating factors, I consider that the appropriate minimum sentence is one of 15 years and 106 days.”
Khan will now begin his minimum juvenile term for the murder of Harvey Willgoose, the devastating consequences of which will continue to be felt by the Sheffield community for years to come.