Hexham murder probe: Hundreds raised for family of ‘beautiful’ girl, 15, killed in stabbing

Hundreds of pounds have been raised in 24 hours for the family of a "beautiful" 15-year-old girl killed in a suspected Hexham murder.

Police attended an incident in the Northumberland town shortly after 5:10 pm on Friday evening where two teenagers were found with serious injuries consistent with having been caused by a bladed article.

They were both taken to hospital, where a 15-year-old girl died from her injuries - the other teenager, a 16-year-old boy, remains in a stable condition.

Police are yet to confirm the identity of the victim, but tributes left at the police cordon on Priestpopple in Hexham have named the young girl as Holly.

In the hours following the tragic news, a fundraiser had also been set up to collect donations "to help to take the stress away from the family at this sad time".

Set up by Carrieanne Matthews, the caption on the GoFundMe page reads: "As many of you are aware sadly Holly lost her life yesterday to knife crime we are trying to raise as many funds as possible to help to take the stress away from the family at this sad time Holly was a beautiful 15-year-old that loved dancing and will be sadly missed."

Over £900 had been raised from 60 donations within 24 hours of the tragedy taking place.

Flowers have also been placed at the cordon in Hexham with people mourning the loss of “the most beautiful girl in the world”, the “best sister in the world” and “a life taken too soon”.

One couple who passed the cordon at Saturday lunchtime have lived in Hexham for two years and said they were left with “shivers down the spine” at the news. One added that he often used the alleyway to get through town and that he often saw “young people just enjoying themselves” and were never “troublesome”.

Read more: Hexham residents with ‘shivers down spine’ after suspected murder of 15-year-old girl

One day visitor from Newcastle said: “I’ve never seen so many police cars. It’s two lives destroyed. We came here for a nice day out and didn’t expect to see it.”

Another visitor to the town described the incident as “terrible”. They added: “You would never expect that definitely not here.”

Chief Superintendent Sam Rennison, Area Commander for Northumberland and North Tyneside, of Northumbria Police has asked the public to avoid speculation on the nature and details of the crime as an investigation is underway.

A police statement released earlier today read: “A teenage girl has sadly died, leaving her family completely devastated beyond words. Another boy has also been seriously injured.

“Our thoughts are very much with their loved ones at this awful time, and we are supporting them in every way we can. We are determined to find out exactly what happened and bring anyone involved to justice. A full investigation is ongoing into the circumstances surrounding this tragic incident.

“We have arrested a teenager in relation to the incident and officers remain in the area to carry out a range of enquiries and offer reassurance to the community. While our investigation is at an early stage, we do believe all those involved are known to each other.

“We would like to thank the public for their continued support and cooperation and would ask people not to speculate on details of the investigation. What might seem like an innocent post on social media to you, could in reality disrupt an ongoing investigation and cause further upset to the family of the victims.

“We would ask that if you did see something or have information in relation to what has happened, and have not yet spoken to us, please come forward directly to officers."