Teen killer stabbed boy to death while under social services care

Teenage killer, 17, bought Rambo-style knife and stabbed 16-year-old boy to death despite being under 24-hour social services care – and was driven to the scene by care workers

• Jamal Waddell, 17, armed himself with knife and stabbed Dylan Holliday to death
• Court heard teenager had tried to take property belonging to Dylan and a friend
• Waddell had been dropped off at the scene by social services moments earlier
• The 17-year-old boy was jailed for 12 years after being convicted of manslaughter

Parents of a murdered teenager say the system has a lot to answer for after their son’s teenage killer armed himself with a knife while under 24 hour care of social services.

Jamal Waddell, 17, was able to go out and buy the knife to kill Dylan Holliday, with social workers even unwittingly driving him to the scene of the fatal stabbing, while taking him to visit his grandmother.

Within moments of him being dropped off in Wellingborough, Northants, Waddell and his friends had approached 16-year-old Dylan and his best friend as they ‘chilled and relaxed’ by an underpass.

The balaclava-clad group demanded their property before Waddell launched the attack, plunging a blade into Dylan’s chest and stabbing him another 12 times in what police later described as ‘a robbery gone tragically wrong’.

Dylan was able to call 999 and told operators ‘I’m dying’ before paramedics rushed to the scene near Brooke Close at around 6pm on August 5 last year.

But nothing could be done to save him and he later died in hospital while Waddell rode away on Dylan’s stolen bike.

Dee Walsh, Dylan’s mother, has now called for answers over how Waddell was allowed to carry out the attack after her son’s killer was sentenced to 12 years in prison.

Claiming the police knew he carried knives ‘for protection’, she told the BBC after the case: ‘He [Waddell] was under the care of social workers.

Parents of murdered teen Dylan Holliday (left) say the system has a lot to answer for after his killer Jamal Waddell (right) armed himself with a knife while under care of social services

Pictured above: Waddell hid this knife from the social workers who drove him to the town

‘He never hid that he carried knives because he carried knives for protection.

‘The police were aware. It shouldn’t have gone as far as it did, my son could still be here. I think the system has got a lot to answer for.

‘As he was taking his last breath he was literally on the phone trying to get help because he knew how serious the situation was.

‘It haunts me because he died on his own, and he knew he was dying.’

Another 15-year-old boy was stabbed in the side by Waddell and was also rushed to Northampton General Hospital but survived.

Waddell, of Leicester, was found guilty of manslaughter, inflicting grievous bodily harm and carrying a knife following a trial at Coventry Crown Court.

He was jailed for 12 years with four years extended supervision at the same court on Wednesday.

Reporting restrictions were lifted by judge The Honorable Mr Justice Dove to allow the naming of the defendant.

Dylan’s 14-year-old sister told the court she ‘loved her brother (pictured above) so much’

The court was told at the time of the attack Waddell was under the care of Northamptonshire Children’s Trust out of the county on a tag.

A report by social services the following year said the boy was ‘associated with gangs, carrying weapons, smoking drugs and skipping school’. 

Despite being under 24-hour care, the teenager went out and bought the knife which came in a sheath, jurors heard.

On 5 August 2021, Waddell had been scheduled for a child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) assessment but instead, the court heard, he was taken to visit his grandmother in Wellingborough.

Unknown to social workers, the teenager had hidden the knife in his jogging bottoms and within moments of being dropped off, he had launched the brutal attack on Dylan before stealing his bike and leaving his victim to die. 

Sentencing, the judge said: ‘You turned what had been a peaceful afternoon for them into violence and chaos in a matter of moments.

Dylan Holliday was killed after he was attacked in an underpass in Wellingborough, Northants

‘Dylan Holliday was killed by you Jamal Waddell; Dylan’s friend was attacked by you the second defendant and then stabbed in the chest by you Jamal Waddell causing him very serious injuries indeed and leaving him in hospital.

‘That afternoon you Jamal Waddell were taken to visit your grandmother in Wellingborough having spent some time in care and supervision in Leicester.

‘You had the benefit of the help and advice of social workers during that time, but you disregarded and betrayed that advice when, by some means or another, you obtained a knife with a vicious blade which you then hid in your clothing and took with you to Wellingborough.

‘As the jury found, you did not have that knife with you for your own protection but you had it with you as an offensive weapon.

‘I have no doubt that, as happened, you had the intention to use it to cause serious injury to others.

‘The carrying of knives in public with a criminal intention has an appalling impact on the lives of our towns and cities: the deaths and injuries which are caused by these weapons shatter lives and fracture our communities.

Waddell was dropped off near the scene by social services moments before he killed Dylan

‘Everyone should listen to the lived experience of Dylan’s mother, who said in her moving victim personal statement, that people need to ‘put the knives down and stop taking lives’.

‘It is a lesson which this case typifies and must be learned if our communities are going to be safe places to live.’

The court also heard moving victim impact statements from Dylan’s mother, father and 14-year-old sister.

In a statement addressed directly to Waddell, Nigel Holliday said: ‘When you took Dylan from me, you took everything from me. Life will never be the same.

‘I hope you rot in hell for what you did. What I feel for you is beyond hate.’

Dylan’s sister said she ‘loved her brother so much’ and that ‘she knew that Dylan was looking down on them’.

Dylan was able to call for help and told emergency call handlers he was dying after the attack

Dee Walsh, Dylan’s mother, described her son as her best friend and her soul mate and that he was her rock.

She said: ‘He was a lovely young man. Even though he had a stammer he would say hello to everyone.’

The killer, who admitting carrying a knife from the age of 13, claimed he had stabbed Dylan in self-defence.

But a jury of five men and five women found him guilty of manslaughter in August following a four-week trial.

The killer’s co-defendant, also 17, and who cannot be named for legal reasons, was found guilty of inflicting GBH to Dylan’s friend and carrying a knife.

He was given a 12 month Youth Rehabilitation Order.

Detective Superintendent Joe Banfield, of Northamptonshire Police, said after the case: ‘The message is ‘stop carrying knives’.

‘The judge passed a decent sentence and recognised that he (Waddell) is a dangerous individual.

‘The judge has recognised that knife crime is the scourge of our towns and cities and hopefully the sentence will be a deterrent.

‘But it’s little comfort to his mum, dad and sister. There’s no winners in this case.

‘Justice has been served but it won’t bring Dylan back.’

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