Teenager who stabbed 12-year-old Ava White named as he turns 18
The following year, he was convicted of her murder after a trial and, at 15, he was sentenced to a minimum of 13 years for her murder.
Reporting restrictions preventing Gilbertson from being identified were kept in place until he turned 18, despite representations from the media, which were supported by Ava's family.
Ava's mother Leeann White, 42, said: 'I wanted the whole world to know who he was. I think Liverpool had the right to know who he was as well.'
She said since the trial, she had been told very little about Gilbertson, but had learnt he had done his GCSEs.
Speaking through tears, she said: 'It should have been Ava sitting her GCSEs, not him.'
Ava White, who died after she was stabbed following an argument in Liverpool city centre (Trinity RC Primary School/PA)
On Ava's 15th birthday, in January 2024, Ms White's nephew was sent a photograph from a seemingly fake Snapchat profile which appeared to show Gilbertson posing for the camera with his arms crossed alongside another male whose face had been covered on the photo with a logo and who had his middle finger up.
Ms White reported the photo and was told Gilbertson had been using an iPad for educational purposes and there was a glitch in the system allowing him to use the internet, but was also told the photo had been taken while he was on a visit.
She said she was told he had been 'read the riot act' but had no formal punishment.
She said: 'He didn't get any privileges taken off him. He just got a telling off basically.'
She said she felt 'really angry' when she saw the picture.
'I can never have a photograph with my child now so why does he have the right? He lost his rights when he murdered my child,' she said
Harry Gilbertson running on School Lane following the incident where Ava White was stabbed (Merseyside Police/PA)
Ms White, who has set up a foundation in Ava's name that provides bleed control kits to premises, said she had mixed emotions about Gilbertson being named.
'I try not to think about him if I'm being honest, because if I do, I'm just taking a million steps back,' she said.
'So I just try to focus on Ava and doing stuff for her legacy is more important to me than thinking about him.'
When making the decision to keep reporting restrictions in place, trial judge Mrs Justice Yip said there were concerns for Gilbertson's younger siblings, one of whom had not been told their brother was on trial for murder.
Ms White said: 'Yet I had to sit my little nephews and nieces down and tell them about Ava, but they could hide everything for him. I feel like they've done everything they can to protect him and his family.'
She said she felt her own family had 'nowhere near' the same protection.
Ava had been in the city centre with friends on the night the Christmas lights were being switched on. The group became involved in an argument with Gilbertson and his friends, who had been filming Snapchat videos of them.
Gilbertson was carrying a knife and struck Ava once to the neck, causing her fatal injury, before fleeing the scene, discarding the weapon and getting rid of his coat.
He was seen on CCTV in a shop later that night taking a selfie and buying butter, which he said was for crumpets.
Ms White added: 'I think he's got understanding (of what he's done), he's quite a clever child.
'He's got understanding, he's just got no remorse.
'It really doesn't feel like justice. He still gets to live and breathe. My Ava doesn't. His mum can see him getting married, having a baby. I'm never going to have that with Ava.'
Ava White, with mother Leeann and sister Mia (Merseyside Police/PA)
Since Ava's death, Ms White, along with Ava's older sister Mia and her aunt June White, have worked through the Ava White Foundation to provide hundreds of bleed control kits in the hope they can prevent other families from going through what they experienced.
At least six lives have been saved thanks to the kits provided by the Ava White Foundation, Ms White said.
The packs, which include gauze, trauma dressings and tourniquets, are delivered to schools, pubs and businesses and training is given on how to use them.
When a 14-year-old girl and 15-year-old boy were stabbed in Kirkby, Merseyside, in April, a bleed control kit donated in Ava's name to a nearby pub was used to help treat the children, who were both taken to hospital but survived.
Ms White said: 'I think every establishment should have one. The way knife crime is, it's not going down, it's getting worse. Everyone needs to be aware of this training, it's so easy.'
She said hearing of other children killed through knife crime made her 'sad for the child but more so for the mum and what she's got to go through now'.
Since Ava's death she no longer has 'good days' but has 'OK days and really bad days', she said.
She added: 'What keeps me going is I'm keeping Ava's name out there and that's more important to me, to keep Ava's name out there so she's not forgotten.'
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3 hours ago
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Kitchen designer Lillie Clack, 22, of Morden, south London, was injured and died days after the crash in the early hours of Christmas Day 2021. She was among six people who squeezed into the overcrowded Mercedes driven by Charlie Hilton, 25, who was chased by police before the car hit a tree, flipped over and burst into flames. My heart splintered into a million pieces and Lillie is the only medication that can fix it Debbie Clack The friends had been enjoying a Winter Wonderland attraction in the West End and visited a pub in Morden before accepting a lift home from Hilton. Her mother Debbie Clack told the inquest at South London Coroner's Court: 'Lillie is always on my mind. Did Lillie suffer? I know that she would have been scared and wanted her mummy.' In her impact statement, she added: 'My heart splintered into a million pieces and Lillie is the only medication that can fix it.' Earlier she dabbed away tears as she sat looking at a large photograph of her daughter and details of Lillie's injuries were read, including complications of a head injury that was given as the cause of death in a post-mortem examination. Lillie hoped to have a family of her own one day and dreamed of creating a granny annex, telling her mother 'there is no other person I would let look after my children'. Ms Clack, who said she suffers from anxiety and depression, said: 'Living without Lillie is like living without air, some days are a struggle to breathe.' She said they would always say 'no matter what we did we would do it together, now Lillie is gone'. She remembered Lillie as beautiful and hardworking. During the lockdown, Lillie's workplace closed and she worked as a Sainsbury's delivery driver. Lillie Clack, 22, was among six people who squeezed into a Mercedes driven by Charlie Hilton who was chased by police before the car hit a tree ( In February 2023, Hilton was jailed at the Old Bailey for 10 years and six months after pleading guilty to causing Miss Clack's death by dangerous driving, three counts of causing serious injury, failing to stop when directed and driving above the alcohol limit. He was also disqualified from driving for five years after his release from prison. Hilton was travelling at over 100mph at some points in the chase, carried out an illegal U-turn and ran through a red light as passengers inside the car begged him to stop, the inquest has heard. Lillie's brother Michael said Christmas which is a time of joy for many families is now painful for theirs. In a statement read on his behalf, he said: 'I will never forgive Charlie Hilton for what he did to Lillie as he has ruined my life and the life of my family.' Like his mother, Mr Clack said he is also haunted by Lillie's last moments and mourning the happy times they had hoped to share one day. He said: 'What did she feel? How much pain was she in? How scared was she? These are all questions that will never be answered.' He said her death has had a 'massive impact upon my family and everyone around' and Christmas is treated as 'just another day' as it is the date the police came to the family's door to say she was injured. Lillie was remembered as 'beautiful' and 'hardworking' with dreams of one day becoming a mother ( Hilton had been told by his passengers that a police vehicle had turned its blue lights on behind them and was indicating for him to stop. Instead, he sped up and was driving so fast that the passengers bumped their head on the roof of the car as they were chased by police. At one point Sergeant Alexander Gill said his police car was doing 90mph in a 40mph zone and Hilton's Mercedes was 'greatly getting away'. Police called off the chase, which lasted about three minutes, after losing sight of the Mercedes. Miss Clack's boyfriend Jack Watson and best friend Delia Casey were among those who were badly hurt. In a statement Mr Watson, who was in the back seat, remembered seeing police blue lights and sirens and described Hilton's driving as 'dangerous and quick' and thought he could 'easily lose control'. Mr Watson later recalled: 'I think I might have said 'Charlie what are you doing, why are you going so fast'. I think the girls were in shock.' 'I remember asking 'where's Lillie?'. I remember being in an ambulance and blood on my jacket but I do not know where the blood came from. My clothing was cut off from me – and I knew then that it was bad Jack Watson He also remembered saying: 'Charlie, slow down. What are you doing? Let me and Lillie out.' He recalled Hilton telling him to shut up. Mr Watson does not remember the crash but does recall being pulled out on a stretcher and bleeding from his lip. He added: 'I remember asking 'where's Lillie?'. I remember being in an ambulance and blood on my jacket but I do not know where the blood came from. 'My clothing was cut off from me – and I knew then that it was bad.' In a statement, Miss Casey who was sitting on the front seat, said: 'Everyone was shouting inside the car. There was a lot going on and I was just feeling very fearful for everyone in the car. 'The speed we were going at made me feel terrified. 'It feels like I was only in there for a few seconds. It feels like a blur.'
