A 15-year-old boy who murdered schoolboy Leo Ross has been named as Kian Moulton after a court lifted an anonymity order, with the teenager sentenced to serve at least 13 years behind bars.
Moulton was publicly identified after Birmingham Crown Court heard he stabbed Leo Ross in the stomach whilst the victim was heading home from school in Birmingham in January 2025. The defendant was 14 years old at the time of the attack.
Judge Mr Justice Choudhury KC sentenced Moulton on Monday following his guilty plea to murder entered last month. The court order protecting the teenager’s anonymity was lifted after he admitted the killing, allowing his name to be reported for the first time.
Birmingham Crown Court was told Moulton had attacked three elderly women in the days leading up to Leo Ross’s murder, with two of the victims suffering severe injuries. The defendant admitted a string of offences relating to these prior attacks.
Judge Choudhury stated Moulton selected Leo Ross as his victim because the schoolboy was smaller than him. Following the fatal stabbing, the teenager cycled around Trittiford Mill Park informing people that a boy had been stabbed, the court heard.
The judge was told the defendant was “a young man with formidable health problems” though he remained aware of the consequences of his actions. The nature of these health problems was not detailed in court proceedings.
The minimum 13-year term means Moulton will not be eligible for parole consideration until he reaches his late twenties. The actual length of his imprisonment will depend on future parole board assessments of his risk to public safety and rehabilitation progress.
Leo Ross was 12 years old when he was killed whilst making his way home from school. The fatal attack occurred in Birmingham in January 2025, with Leo Ross dying from the stomach wound inflicted by Moulton.
The court heard details of the attacks on three elderly women perpetrated by Moulton in the days before he murdered Leo Ross. Two of these victims sustained severe injuries during the assaults, with the defendant subsequently admitting multiple offences connected to these incidents.
The lifting of the anonymity order followed standard legal procedures when juveniles are convicted of particularly serious offences. Courts can remove reporting restrictions in murder cases involving young defendants once guilt has been established and sentencing concluded.
Moulton will serve his sentence in youth custody facilities initially before potential transfer to adult prison as he ages. The minimum term imposed by Judge Choudhury represents the period that must elapse before any parole application can be considered, though release is not guaranteed at that point.
