Mother of Ava White, 12, who was murdered over petty Snapchat row condemns 'monster' teenage killer's lack of remorse after he posted selfie to site from behind bars
The mother of murdered 12-year-old Ava White today branded the teenager who killed her in a petty row over Snapchat video a 'monster' after he posted a selfie on the same platform from behind bars.
Harry Gilbertson - who was 14 when he fatally stabbed Ava - was unmasked by Mail Online today as he turns 18.
Ava's campaigning mother Leeann, who has dedicated her life to tackling knife crime, said it was 'important the public know who he is' now that he is legally an adult.
To her fury, despite the fact that he's currently serving a minimum 13-year sentence for murdering Ava in November 2021, muscle-bound Gilbertson managed to upload an image of himself onto Snapchat.
For her family it was particular hurtful because the argument which led to Gilbertson stabbing the schoolgirl in the neck was sparked by his refusal to delete a Snapchat video he had made of Ava and her friends.
They had been in Liverpool city centre to watch the Christmas lights switch-on - but instead 'unique and hugely popular' Ava was left bleeding to death on the pavement.
Ava's mother today slammed Gilbertson for brazenly flaunting his bulked-up physique on the same social media site.
'The picture was taken on Snapchat,' she said.
'The same social media that he posted the video of Ava on before he murdered her.
'He has never shown any remorse.'
She added: 'I don't call him by his name. I call him the monster.'
And Ms White, 42, demanded to know how Gilbertson had managed to evade prison rules and access the internet from within the secure unit where he is serving a life sentence.
'I know he got read the riot act for that,' Ms White added.
'They told me he used a tablet that was supposed to be for educational purposes to post it and that there was a glitch in the prison systems that allowed him to get on to the Internet, but I just don't buy that.
'It's disgusting, he didn't even get any extra time added on to his sentence.'
Gilbertson was convicted of Ava's murder in 2022 - but the trial judge refused calls from Ava's family and the Press for him to be named, saying the risk to his family, in particular his younger siblings, was too great.
Today, however, the Mail can identify and picture Gilbertson for the first time on his 18th birthday.
Ava's mother, Leeann White, 42, said: '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.
'He's never shown any remorse.
'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.
'His name needs to be out there to act as a deterrent to others who might be thinking about carrying knives.'
Ms White said that she now believed that 'with hindsight' Mrs Justice Yip, who presided over Gilbertson's trial at Liverpool Crown Court, had been right to prevent him from being named initially.
'If the judge had named him then he would probably be getting a new identity on his 18th birthday so, in a way, I am glad she didn't,' Ms White added.
'I definitely don't want that.
'I've waited all this time for his name to be out there. If he was given a new identity and I didn't know who he was, I don't think I would be able to go on living.'
Ava had been given permission to stay out late to see the lights turned on when they encountered a group of boys including Gilbertson on November 25, 2021.
She became angry when he filmed her and posted it online.
Ava - who attended Notre Dame Catholic College in Everton - demanded Gilbertson delete the video from Snapchat.
But an argument developed and he stabbed her in the neck with a three-inch flick knife.
Gilbertson told jurors he carried the knife to make himself 'feel big'.
He claimed he stabbed her in self-defence.
But the court heard he 'grinned' as Ava lay dying, before running off to discard his coat and the weapon.
Jurors rejected his version of events and convicted him of Ava's murder.
Mrs Justice Yip was told Gilbertson was de-sensitised to violence after witnessing his father attack his mother at home.
He had also been made the subject of a community resolution notice four months before Ava's murder for hitting a police community support officer on the head.
At the time of Ava's death he was awaiting trial for assaulting two women and was known to police who were concerned he was being groomed into a criminal gang.
Sentencing Gilbertson, who has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and attended a special school, Mrs Justice Yip highlighted the role social media played in the case, saying it was tragic 'something so small' as a Snapchat video had left a girl dead.
She told him: 'There is only one reason why Ava is dead and that is because you chose to carry a knife and you chose to get it out and use it.'
Ms White told the Mail she agreed with Esther Ghey, 38, whose 16-year-old daughter Brianna was also stabbed to death by teenagers, that the Government needed to do more to protect children from dangers associated with social media sites.
Ms White added: 'I've met Esther and agree with her campaigns.
'All social media does is cause harm and distress. Everything children are exposed to on there is frightening.'
Although almost four years have passed since Ava's death, Ms White said she finds it really hard to cope with the loss of her youngest child.
The mother-of-two tearfully added: 'I'm really up and down.
'Some days I'm okay, other days are really bad and I can't stop crying.
'It doesn't get any easier, it seems to get harder as time goes on.
'It really was so senseless what happened to Ava.
'I don't agree with violence at all, but I'm always thinking "Why couldn't he have just pushed or shoved her?"
'She was only 12, he was 14. She was a girl and he was a boy.
'Why didn't he just push her, he didn't have to stab her in the neck.'
She said the Ava White Foundation, which she set up in the wake of her daughter's murder, 'keeps me going'.
The not-for-profit organisation campaigns against knife crime and aims to fund and deliver specialist bleed packs to schools, youth clubs, pubs and train and bus stations in the North West.
It also visits schools to educate schoolchildren on the dangers of carrying knives and to teach life-saving skills.
'To be honest, I don't know where I would be without it,' Ms White, a former shop assistant, added.
'It gives me a reason to get up in the morning.
'I know I have to do this for Ava and it keeps me going each day until I get home.'
A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman today said: 'This was an horrendous crime, and our thoughts remain with the family of Ava White.
'No victim should ever have to see their perpetrators appearing online.
'We've put in place tough measures to clamp down on the use of social media in prisons and have committed to review how we could extend these controls to all places of custody.'
Under prison rules, inmates - including children - face 'sanctions' if they are caught in possession of a mobile phone or other illicit device with internet access.
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