As Harry Gilbertson turns 18 today, he can now be named as the vicious killer of Ava White, who was stabbed outside Primark in Liverpool city centre moments after the Christmas lights switch-on
This is the schoolboy who murdered 12-year-old girl Ava White in a petty row over social media videos.
Harry Gilbertson has been named and pictured for the first time because he turns 18 today – Friday June 20 – more than three-and-a-half years after he killed Ava. He stabbed the girl in the neck following an altercation moments after a Christmas lights switch-on in Liverpool city centre.
Gilbertson denied the murder charge but was convicted by a jury in May 2022. He was just 14 at the time of the offence, and 15 when he was jailed for a minimum of 13 years – and so therefore reporting restrictions meant the press was unable to identity the youngster. These cease today, though, because Gilbertson has reached adulthood.
Reacting to this, Ava’s mother, Leeann White, 42, told Mail Online: “It is important the public know who he is. The public know everything about Ava – her name was splashed everywhere when she died. Why shouldn’t everyone know what he did? Why should he be protected?
“He was the one in the wrong, he was the one who went out that night with a knife… I know he was only a child himself when it happened but children know right from wrong and my child knew not to pick up a knife and stab someone.”
READ MORE: Ava White’s mum ‘thought there’d been a mistake’ when told daughter, 12, had been stabbed
The stabbing in November 2021 happened after Ava and her friends were approached by a group of boys. A verbal argument followed after one of the boys filmed them, which he later shared on social media site Snapchat. Ava told the boy to stop filming and delete the video and, after the argument continued, Ava was stabbed in the neck with a flick knife. She was rushed to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, where she sadly died a short time later despite the best efforts of medical staff.
Since he was sentenced, Gilbertson has been brazenly flaunting rules while inside his secure unit. The picture above shows the now 18-year-old posing for photos published on Snapchat, reports Liverpool Echo.
Speaking to the Echo, Leeann added: “The picture was taken on Snapchat. The same social media that he posted the video of Ava on before he murdered her. He has never shown any remorse… I don’t call him by his name. I call him the monster.” The ECHO has approached the Ministry of Justice for comment regarding Gilbertson’s appearance on social media while in detention.
In the picture shared on Snapchat, Gilbertson, with cropped brown hair and a blue Montirex tracksuit top, stands with his muscular arms crossed, while an unknown associate wearing a grey Nike tracksuit puts up his middle finger to the camera.
Merseyside Police and other forces have – and continue to – conduct open land searches, stop searches and carry out targeted operations to attempt to take knives off the streets.
However, data from NHS Digital shows there were 3,900 “hospital episodes” recorded in English hospitals in 2023/24 due to assault by a sharp object. This was a 3.3% increase compared to 2022/23, and a 7% increase compared to 2014/15.