The ECHO today names and pictures Ava White’s murderer for the first time and reveals he has been pictured on social media while in a secure unit
The teenage boy who murdered schoolgirl Ava White has been named and pictured for the first time as he turns 18. Harry Gilbertson, whose 18th birthday is today, Friday, June 20, stabbed 12-year-old Ava in the neck following an altercation moments after a Christmas lights switch-on in Liverpool city centre.
Gilbertson was just 14 when he committed the horrific incident in November 2021, meaning his identity was protected by a court-enforced order which prevented the media from publishing details including his name, picture and address. But now he has reached adulthood, the ECHO can reveal for the first time who the teenager is.
The ECHO can also reveal that Gilbertson has been brazenly flaunting rules while inside his secure unit, with the picture above showing the now 18-year-old posing for photos published on social media site Snapchat. Speaking to the ECHO this week, Ava’s mum Leeann White said: “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.” She added: “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.
Ava, who had been given permission to stay out later to see the lights turned on, was with a group of friends near the Royal Court Theatre when they were approached by a group of boys. A verbal argument broke out after Gilbertson’s group filmed them and posted the videos on Snapchat. Ava told them to delete the video, but the argument continued.
Gilbertson then stabbed Ava in the neck with a flick knife, with the injured schoolgirl stumbling onto nearby Church Alley where she collapsed on the ground. Gilbertson’s group laughed at Ava, while she was given first aid by a member of the public. She was rushed to Alder Hey Children’s Hospital by paramedics, but died a short time later.
Gilbertson, who was known only as Boy A during the 12-day trial proceedings at Liverpool Crown Court, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 13 years in July 2022. Ms White told the ECHO: “I don’t think his sentence was any sort of justice. He will still be 27 or 28 when he is released. He could still have a family and get married. Ava never will.”
Ms White told the ECHO the picture of Gilbertson was only published on Snapchat in recent weeks. She said: “It just made me really angry. I struggle to express my feelings or emotions anymore. He is in a secure unit but they didn’t even take away his privileges – they basically gave him a telling off. He should not have access to the internet, full stop.”
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.
The ECHO can also exclusively reveal Gilbertson was charged with assault while on remand. The incident related to an assault on a female on May 30 2021 – several months before he murdered Ava. He pleaded not guilty to the alleged offence, but the case was discontinued in August 2022, soon after his conviction.
Gilbertson was arrested three days after Ava’s murder. During his trial the jury heard how he made attempts to cover his tracks, before trying to spin a web of lies by “quite ruthlessly” putting the blame onto another boy. The court heard in the hours after Ava’s murder, Gilbertson ditched the knife, his designer coat and mobile phone.
He was then seen taking selfies with friends and buying crumpets, before playing video games. When arrested he told officers he had not been in the city centre on the evening of Ava’s murder and had instead been playing Call of Duty on a PlayStation 4 at his friend’s house. He later admitted he had been in the city centre during his second police interview, but only after he was seen on CCTV footage. He later maintained he had acted in self defence.
But the jury saw through his web of lies and found him guilty of murder after two hours and eight minutes of deliberations. Sentencing, Mrs Justice Yip told Gilbertson: “Unlike Ava you will still have a chance to grow up, but your life has been changed forever. You will only be released if you can show you are no longer a danger. Because of your age, you may be released while you are still a young man. I know that will seem unfair to Ava’s family when they have lost the chance to see her grow up.”
Ava was a pupil at Notre Dame Catholic College and was described as “unique and hugely popular”. Her mum told the court her daughter was “the life and soul of the party” and a “happy, healthy child adored by her family”.
Ms White told the ECHO this week: “I still feel like I’m stuck in 2021. But my life has changed. I can’t work. I can’t go out. I barely leave my house. Ava’s foundation is the only thing keeping me going. I still have to push on for Ava. That’s given me the drive to carry on.”
The Ava White Foundation was set up following Ava’s death to generate awareness of the scourge of knife crime, as well as installing bleed control kits. Ms White said: “I have been into a lot of schools. The main thing is getting out and speaking to the children. Since Ava’s death, the bleed packs in her name have saved six or seven lives.
“I see the bleed packs as Ava’s legacy. I’m very proud of them.” She added Ava’s older sister Mia has “okay days and bad days” – but is using the foundation as “her driving force”.
Ms White said her daughter would have been leaving school last week. She told the ECHO: “When she left school we said we were going to go backpacking around Australia. Realising we won’t be able to do things like that feels really hard. She never got to do her GCSEs. He got to sit his.
“It feels like we are missing out on so many milestones. All I’m left with are memories.”
