A teenager who stabbed a 12-year-old boy to death was caught on camera lying to police moments after the murder, according to authorities in England.
West Midlands Police on Tuesday said 15-year-old Kian Moulton was sentenced to life behind bars — with a minimum of 13 years in custody — following a hearing at Birmingham Crown Court for the killing of Leo Ross.
Police said Moulton fatally attacked Ross as the boy was walking home from school in January 2025.
Moulton, said police, was seen on surveillance cameras riding his bike near a park on the day of the murder. That’s where authorities said he spotted Ross and killed him.
Ross died from his injuries the next day, according to authorities.
“This was such a tragic and random act of violence which killed an innocent young boy,” Detective Inspector Joe Davenport, who led the investigation, said in a news release. “There is no indication Leo and the defendant knew one another — this appears to have been a totally random attack.”
Leo Ross (Photo: West Midlands Police)
After the murder, police said Moulton hid the knife in bushes along a stream before asking a passer-by to call authorities, saying he found Ross laying on the ground. When officers arrived, said police, he spoke to them at the scene.
“I just come out here every day to ride my bike,” Moulton allegedly said in footage shared by Daily Record.
“That is when I [saw] him, and then I [saw] this woman, she was walking down, so I told her to call you guys,” he added. “Then, I went to get some help from different people and that’s all I know about it. He was laying there like that when I got here and that’s all I know about it.”
Police said after he lied to officers about his involvement in Ross’ death, he rode his bike home.
Davenport said based on the investigation, it appeared that 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,” Davenport said. “We will likely never know why he decided to attack Leo, who was completely innocent.”
Kian Moulton (Photo: West Midlands Police)
Davenport said the arrest came after investigators watched hundreds of hours of security video and doorbell footage. He added that while Moulton refused to comment during interviews and didn’t provide an explanation, “he told officers while being arrested that they wouldn’t find the knife he used to kill Leo.”
Ross’ mother, Rachel Fisher, described her son as the sweetest, most kind-hearted boy.
“He didn’t have a bad bone in his body,” she said in the release. “My baby’s life was stolen for no reason whatsoever. My life will never be the same again without him. He will be loved and missed forever.”
His foster family, the Westons, shared similar sentiments. They said Moulton’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.”
The Westons also said they miss him deeply, adding that their “world has been torn apart.” His “absence has left a permanent void in our family, one that can never be filled.”
They said they don’t feel any “closure or healing” from Moulton’s sentencing, describing it as another step in their journey of grief.
“Our focus remains on remembering who Leo was, not how he was taken from us,” they said. “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.”
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