Yob jailed for life for 'mindless' murder of talented Muslim school boy

A talented A-level student was stabbed to death in a ‘mindless and unprovoked’ attack by a drunken youth who had been released from custody only three days earlier.

Ahmed Hassan, 17, was trying to board a train when Michael Brook, 18, plunged a kitchen knife into his side and pierced his heart.

Brook has never been able to explain why he carried out the murder.

But he was extremely drunk on ‘vast quantities’ of vodka and rum and he also had cannabis in his system.

A serial offender, he had been released three days earlier from an 18-week detention and training order imposed for breaching an earlier sentence for dishonesty offences.

He was due to have two weeks of
supervised training.

Yesterday he was given a life sentence
after admitting murdering the ‘gentle, kind and sensitive’ grammar schoolboy who wanted to be a lawyer.

He will serve at least 14 years before being considered for parole.

Michael Brook will serve at least 14 years before being considered for parole after stabbing Ahmed Hussain to death

Ahmed was going to Manchester with friends to buy family presents for the Muslim festival of Eid when he was attacked, Leeds Crown Court was told.

The group of young Asian men were waiting for their train at Dewsbury station shortly before 2pm on December 15 when they were approached by four drunken white youths.

One of them, 17-year-old Anthony Sorren, was acting in an ‘intimidating and provocative’ manner towards passengers.

He asked each of the Asians if they had any ‘beef’ with him and Ahmed tried to diffuse the situation by giving ing him a friendly hug, said prosecutor
Alistair Macdonald QC.

Moments later the train both groups were waiting for pulled up.

Sorren attempted to throw a punch at someone. At this point Brook pulled out a five-inch bladed knife and stabbed Ahmed once.

The stabbing was was caught on CCTV. Brook is seen to ‘swing his arm in a forceful way’ into the teenager, who staggered and collapsed in a pool of blood.

Ahmed quickly lost consciousness and was pronounced dead in hospital three hours later.

Sorren was detained at the scene by an off-duty police officer, but Brook and his other two friends fled.

Mr Macdonald said: ‘This was an unprovoked attack by Brook on an unarmed person. In effect it was an unexplained attack.’

The court heard Sorren had used ‘highly racialist’ language in the police cells, but Judge Peter Collier, QC concluded that there was ‘not a shred of evidence’ to suggest the murder had a racial element to it.

Affray: Anthony Sorren, 17, pleaded guilty to affray for his part in the murder of Ahmed Hassan

Brook, who like Sorren comes from Dewsbury, handed himself in to police the next day.

Ahmed was studying for A-levels in politics, maths, law and economics at Heckmondwike Grammar School, a selective state school near his home in Batley. He was predicted to get A* grades at his AS Level exams.

His father Ibrahim Hassan, a 37- year-old market trader, and Yasmin Hassan, 36, who have four children, were not at court yesterday.

But the pain they suffered was clear in Mrs Hassan’s victim impact statement, which was read in court.

She said: ‘Life without Ahmed is like missing a limb. I sometimes forget that he is no
longer here but the reality is that I feel my loss every single day.

‘There are no words to sum up how I feel, however when I sleep I often wake up sobbing, feeling the reality of our loss and grieving for my son. Our loss is so great and enduring and life without Ahmed will always be empty.’

Sorren was originally charged with murder but the Crown Prosecution Service accepted his guilty plea to affray after he said he had no idea Brook was carrying a knife. He was given a four-month detention order.